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BOOK    398.2  1.H245A   c   1 


INDIAN    FAIRY 


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"Once  he  found  a  water-lily  with  a  leaf  so  broad 
that  it  made  a  petticoat  for  his  wife" 


A 


ix^ 


AMERICAN 

INDIAN  FAIRY 

TALES 

SNOW  BIRD, 

THE  WATER  TIGER,  etc. 

BY 

MARGARET  COMPTON 

With  numerous  illustrations 

NEW  YORK 

DODD.  MEAD  &  COMPANY 

1907 


.!TrrrT'TTfr'j'-nT^>»'^'l!  HI'.  '  ''*1.'  Vll-''?i'«     "^j''*T'"l'^fl''.'>fTr  TT- 


(^ 


^X.= 


v^ 


1 


'Mit,iM&       ^' '     '"  ^     J^ 


1 


f 


TO 

MY    SISTER, 

WHO  STILL  "  LOVES  FAIRY  TALES," 

THIS  VOLUME  IS 

AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED, 


W 


V-W^- 


AUTHOR'S    NOTE 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  librarian  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  the  author  has  had  access 
to  government  reports  of  Indian  life.  Upon  these 
and  the  folk-lore  contained  in  the  standard  works 
of  Schoolcraft,  Copway,  and  Catlin  these  stories 
are  founded. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

The  Story-Teller  Himself  .  .  .  .  1 
Snowbird  and  the  Water-Tigeb  ...  3 
The  Coyote  or  Prairie  Wolf  .  ,  .  .15 
How  Mad  Buffalo  Fought  the  Thunder-Bird    27 

The  Red  Swan 37 

The  Bended  Rocks 55 

White  Hawk,  the  Lazy       •       •       •       •       .    63 

The  Magic  Feather 76 

The  Star  Maiden  ..•••..    93 

The  Fighting  Hare 101 

The  Great  Head 113 

The  Adventures  of  Living  Statue  .  .  .  123 
Turtle-Dove,  Sage-Cock,  and  the  Witch         ,  133 

The  Island  of  Skeletons 141 

Stone-Shirt  and  the  One-Two   .       .       •       ,  155 

The  Great  Wizard 167 

White  Cloud's  Visit  to  the  Sun -Prince  ,       .  185 


\ 


iO. 


JiA. 


^"%{ 


f&^^ 


l^ji 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

"Once  he  found  a  water-lily  with  a  leaf  so  broad 
that  it  made  a  petticoat  for  his  wife,"   Frontispiece. 

'*  Then,  all  of  a  sudden  it  changed  to  a  woman,"  10 

"  Pounced  upon  him,  and  lifted  him  into  the  air,"      31 

'•  He  flew  swiftly  toward  the  magician's  lodge,"         53 

"  Lo  !  Clouds  of  blue  and  white  pigeons  rushed  from 
the  smoke," 91 

"  He  went  to  the  top  of  the  cliff  and  saw  the  sun  just 
rising," Ill 

"  Near  the  white,  misty  road  of  the  dead,"        .        132 

"Whispered  to  the  Swans,  '  Come,  let  us  go  home,'  "  148 

"  Instead  of  one  handsome  young  warrior,  there  were 
two," 161 

"It  formed  a  small  lake,"  ....        172 

"  White  Cloud  and  his  friend  at  last  gave  a  great 
leap," 197 


9*^-. 


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Jij. 

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•"C. 


THE  STORY-TELLER  HIMSELF 


AGOG,  the  story-teller  of 
the  Indians,  is  a  little, 
old  man  with  a  face  as 
black  as  the  shell  of  the 
butternut  and  a  body 
like  a  twisted  stick.  His 
eyes  are  twice  as  large 
as  other  men's,  so  that 
when  a  bird  flies  past  him  he  sees  twice 
as  many  feathers  on  it,  and  all  the  little 
colors  underneath  are  bright  to  him.  His 
ears  are  twice  as  large  as  other  men's,  so 
that  what  seems  to  them  but  a  tiny  sound 
is  to  him  like  the  roll  of  thunder.  His  legs 
are  supple  and  his  arms  are  strong,  so  that 
he  can  run  faster  and  further,  and  can 
lift  and  carry  twice  as  much  as  others. 

No  one  believes  him,  yet  every  one  is 
eager  to  listen  to  him.  He  tells  of  things 
of  which  no  one  else  ever  saw  the  like ; 
but  the  stories  are  pleasant  to  hear,  and 
lagoo  says  they  are  true.  When  the  rivers 
and  lakes  are  frozen  so  that  the  Indian  can- 
not fish,  and  the  snow  has  drifted  many 
feet  in  thickness  so  that  he  cannot  hunt, 
then  he  goes  into  his  wigwam,  cowers 
under  his  heaviest  bear-skin  wrapper  or 


^••»t* 


fl  /:  V 


'M 


2  Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

crouches  by  the  fire,  and  longs  for  lagoo 
to  appear.  When  the  Storm -fool  dances 
about  the  wigwam  and  throws  the  snow- 
llakes,  hard  and  dry  as  sand,  in  at  the  door- 
way, then  lagoo  is  most  likely  to  visit  him. 

He  vanishes  for  many  moons  and  comes 
back  with  new  and  wonderful  tales.  He 
has  met  bears  with  eyes  of  fire  and  claws 
of  steel,  mosquitoes  whose  wings  were 
large  enough  for  a  sail  for  his  canoe  and 
serpents  with  manes  like  horses. 

Once  he  found  a  water-lily  with  a  leaf  so 
broad  that  it  made  a  petticoat  for  his  wife. 
At  another  time  he  saw  a  bush  so  large  that 
it  took  him  half  a  day  to  walk  round  it. 

As  he  sat  in  his  doorway  one  summer 
evening  he  shot  an  arrow  without  taking  di- 
rect aim .  It  killed  a  swan  and  twenty  brace 
of  ducks  that  were  swimming  on  the  river, 
then  passed  on  and  mortally  wounded  two 
loons  on  the  bank,  bounded  back  and,  as  it 
touched  the  water,  killed  an  enormous  fish. 

He  remembers  when  the  oldest  oak  was 
an  acorn.  He  says  that  he  will  be  alive 
long  after  the  white  man  has  disappeared 
from  the  land. 

These  are  his  tales  written  down  for  the 
little  Pale-faces.  They  are  of  the  fairies, 
the  giants,  the  dwarfs,  the  witches  and 
the  magicians  of  our  own  land,  America. 


If 


* 


'■^-A-!f 


¥^ 


SNOWBIRD  AND  THE  WATER- 
TIGER 


M>'\ 


VJ» 


,Mi 


SNOWBIRD  AND  THE  WATER^ 
TIGER 

NOWBIRD  was  the 
niuch-loved  wife  of 
Brown  Bear,  the  brave 
hunter  whose  home  was 
on  the  shore  of  the 
Great  Lake.  He  kept 
the  wigwam  well  sup- 
plied with  food;  and 
Snowbird's  moccasins  were  the  finest  in 
the  tribe,  save  only  those  of  the  Chief's 
daughters.  Even  those  owed  much  of  their 
beauty  to  the  lovely  feathers  that  Snow- 
bird had  given  them.  If  you  had. asked 
her  where  she  got  them  she  would  have 
answered  proudly,  * '  My  husband  brought 
them  from  the  chase." 

Besides  Brown  Bear  and  his  wife,  there 
lived  in  the  wigwam  their  own,  dear,  little 
papoose  whom  they  called  ^ '  Pigeon, ' '  be- 
cause he  was  always  saying,  *'  Goo,  goo;" 
but  they  hoped  that  he  would  win  a  nobler 
name  some  day,  when  he  should  fight  the 
enemy,  or  kill  some  beast  that  was  a  ter- 
ror to  the  tribe,  and  so  take  its  name  for 
his  own. 


'«^ 


6  American  Indian  Tales 

These  three  would  have  been  a  very 
happy  family ;  nor  would  the  little  orphan 
boy  whom  they  had  adopted  long  before 
Pigeon  was  born,  have  made  them  any 
trouble;  he  was  a  great  help  to  them. 
But  there  was  still  another  inmate,  Brown 
Bear's  mother,  a  wicked,  old  squaw,  whom 
none  of  the  other  sons'  wives  would  have 
in  their  wigwams.  Brown  Bear  was  her 
youngest  son,  and  had  always  been  her 
favorite.  She  was  kind  to  him  when  she 
was  not  to  any  one  else ;  and  he  loved  her 
and  took  good  care  of  her,  just  as  much 
after  he  brought  Snowbird  home  to  be  his 
wife,  as  he  had  done  before.  But  the 
old  woman  was  jealous ;  and  when  Brown 
Bear  brought  in  dainty  bits,  such  as  the 
moose's  lip  and  the  bear's  kidney,  and 
gave  them  to  his  wife,  she  hated  her  and 
grumbled  and  mumbled  to  herself  in  the 
^  corner  by  the  fire. 

Day  after  day  she  sat  thinking  how  she 
could  get  rid  of  the  ' '  intruder, ' '  as  she 
called  her  daughter-in-law.  She  forgot 
how  she  had  married  the  only  son  of  a 
brave  Chief  and  had  gone  to  be  the  mis- 
tress of  his  wigwam  ;  and  he  had  been  as 
kind  and  good  to  her  as  her  son  was  to 
Snowbird. 

One  day  when  the  work  was  all  done, 


Snowbird  and  the  Watek-Tiger    7 

the  old  woman  asked  her  daughter-in-law 
to  go  out  to  see  a  swing  she  had  found 
near  the  Great  Lake.  It  was  a  twisted 
grapevine,  that  hung  over  a  high  rock ;  but 
it  was  stout  and  strong,  for  it  had  been 
there  many  years  and  was  securely  fas- 
tened about  the  roots  of  two  large  trees. 
The  old  woman  got  in  first  and  grasping 
the  vine  tightly,  swung  herself  further 
and  further  until  she  was  clear  out  over 
the  water.  ^ '  It  is  delightful, ' '  said  she ; 
^' just  try  it." 

So  Snowbird  got  into  the  swing.  While 
she  was  enjoying  the  cool  breeze  that  rose 
from  the  lake,  the  old  woman  crept  behind 
the  trees,  and,  as  soon  as  the  swing  was  in 
full  motion,  and  Snowbird  was  far  out 
over  the  water,  she  cut  the  vine  and  let 
her  drop  down,  down,  down,  not  stopping 
to  see  what  became  of  her. 

She  went  home  and  putting  on  her 
daughter-in-law's  clothes  sat  in  Snow- 
bird's place  by  the  fire,  hiding  her  face  as 
much  as  possible,  so  that  no  one  should 
see  her  wrinkles. 

When  Brown  Bear  came  home  he  gave 
her  the  dainties,  supposing  she  was  his 
wife ;  and  she  ate  them  greedily,  paying 
no  attention  to  the  baby,  who  was  crying 
as  if  its  heart  would  break. 


8 


American  Indian  Tales 


>> 


*^Wliy  does  little  Pigeon    cry  so? 
asked  the  father. 

'^I  don't  know,"  said  the  old  woman, 
''  I  suppose  he's  hungry." 

Thereat,  she  picked  up  the  baby,  shook 
it  soundly  and  made  believe  to  nurse  it.  It 
cried  louder  than  ever.  She  boxed  its 
ears  and  stuffed  something  into  its  mouth 
to  keep  it  quiet. 

Brown  Bear  thought  his  wife  very  cross, 
so  he  took  his  pipe  and  left  the  wigwam. 

The  orphan  boy  had  watched  all  these 
doings  and  had  grown  suspicious.  Going 
to  the  fire  he  pretended  to  brush  away  the 
ashes ;  and,  when  he  thought  the  old 
woman  was  not  looking  at  him,  he  stirred 
the  logs  and  made  a  bright  flame  leap  up 
so  that  he  could  plainly  see  her  face.  He 
was  sure  there  was  something  wrong. 

'^  Where  is  Snowbird?  "  asked  he. 

' '  Sh — ! ' '  said  the  old  woman ;  ' '  she  is 
by  the  lake,  swinging."  The  boy  said  no 
more,  but  went  out  of  the  wigwam  and 
down  to  the  lake.  There  he  saw  the 
broken  swing,  and  guessing  what  had  hap- 
pened, he  went  in  search  of  Brown  Bear 
and  told  him  what  he  had  discovered. 

Brown  Bear  did  not  like  to  think  any 
wrong  of  his  mother,  and  therefore  asked 
her  no  questions.     Sadly  he  paced  up  and 


k 

\  Snowbird  and  the  Water-Tiger    9 


\ 


down  outside  the  door  of  his  wigwam. 
Then  taking  some  black  paint  he  smeared 
his  face  and  body  with  it  as  a  sign  of 
mourning.  When  this  was  done  he  turned 
his  long  spear  upside  down,  and  pressing 
it  into  the  earth,  prayed  for  lightning, 
thunder  and  rain,  so  that  his  wife's  body 
might  rise  from  the  lake. 

Every  day  he  went  thither,  but  saw  no 
sign  of  his  dear  Snowbird,  though  the 
thunder  rolled  heavily  and  the  lightning 
had  split  a  great  oak  near  the  wigwam 
from  the  top  to  the  base.  He  watched  in 
the  rain,  in  the  sunlight,  and  when  the 
great,  white  moon  shone  over  the  lake,  but 
he  saw  nothing. 

Meanwhile  the  orphan  boy  looked  after 
little  Pigeon,  letting  him  suck  the  danti- 
est,  juiciest  bits  of  meat,  and  bringing  him 
milk  to  drink.  On  bright  afternoons  he 
would  take  the  baby  to  the  lake  shore  and 
amuse  him  by  throwing  pebbles  into  the 
water.  Little  Pigeon  would  laugh  and 
crow  and  stretch  out  his  tiny  hands,  then 
taking  a  pebble  would  try  to  throw  it  into 
the  water  himself,  and,  though  it  always 
dropped  at  his  feet,  he  was  just  as  well 
pleased. 

One  day  as  they  were  playing  in  this 
manner  they  saw  a  white  gull  rise  from 


10  American  Indian  Tales 

the  center  of  the  lake  and  fly  towards  the 
part  of  the  shore  where  they  were.  When 
it  reached  them  it  circled  above  their 
heads,  flying  down  close  to  them  until 
little  Pigeon  could  almost  touch  its  great, 
white  wings.  Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  it 
changed  to  a  woman — Snowbird,  little 
Pigeon's  mother ! 

The  baby  crowed  with  delight  and 
caught  at  two  belts,  one  of  leather  and 
one  of  white  metal,  that  his  mother  wore 
about  her  waist.  She  could  not  speak; 
but  she  took  the  baby  in  her  arms, 
fondled  it  and  nursed  it.  Then  she  made 
signs  to  the  boy  by  which  he  understood 
that  he  was  to  bring  the  child  there  every 
day. 

When  Brown  Bear  came  home  that 
night  the  boy  told  him  all  that  had  hap- 
pened. 

The  next  afternoon  when  the  baby 
cried  for  food  the  boy  took  him  to  the 
lake  shore.  Brown  Bear  following  and 
hiding  behind  the  bushes.  The  boy  stood 
where  he  had  before,  close  to  the  water's 
edge,  and,  choosing  a  smooth,  round  peb- 
ble, raised  his  arm  slowly  and  with  care- 
ful aim  threw  it  far  out  into  the  lake. 

Soon  the  gull,  with  a  long,  shining  belt 
around  its  body,  was  seen  rising  from  the 


*'  Then,  all  of  a  sudden  it  changed  to  a  woman." 


Snowbird  and  the  Water-Tiger  11 


water.  It  came  ashore,  hovered  above 
them  a  moment,  and,  as  on  the  previous 
day,  changed  into  a  woman  and  took  the 
child  in  her  arms. 

While  she  was  nursing  it  her  husband 
appeared.  The  black  paint  was  still  on 
his  body,  but  he  held  his  spear  in  his 
hand.  f 

^'  Why  have  you  not  come  home?  "  he 
cried,  and  sprang  forward  to  embrace  her. 

She  could  not  speak,  but  pointed  to  the 
shining  belt  she  wore. 

Brown  Bear  raised  his  spear  carefully 
and  struck  a  great  blow  at  the  links. 
They  were  shivered  to  fragments  and 
dropped  on  the  sands,  where  any  one  see- 
ing them  would  have  supposed  they  were 
pieces  of  a.  large  shell. 

Then  Snowbird's  speech  returned  and 
she  told  how  when  she  fell  into  the  lake, 
a  water-tiger  seized  her  and  twisting  his 
tail  around  her  waist,  drew  her  to  the 
bottom. 

There  she  found  a  grand  lodge  whose 
walls  were  blue  like  the  blue  jay's  back 
when  the  sun  shines  upon  it,  green  like 
the  first  leaves  of  the  maize  and  golden 
like  the  bright  sands  on  the  island  of  the 
Caribs ;  and  the  floor  was  of  sand,  white 
as  the  snows  of  winter.     This  was  the 


'a"-. 


^'."'^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


wigwam  of  the  Chief  of  the  water-tigers, 
whose  mother  was  the  Horned  Serpent 
and  lived  with  him. 

The  Serpent  lay  on  a  great,  white  shell 
which  had  knobs  of  copper  that  shone  like 
distant  campfires.  But  these  were  noth- 
ing to  the  red  stone  that  sparkled  on  her 
forehead.  It  was  covered  with  a  thin  skin 
like  a  man's  eyelid,  which  was  drawn 
down  when  she  went  to  sleep.  Her  horns 
were  very  wonderful,  for  they  were  pos- 
sessed of  magic.  When  they  touched  a 
great  rock  the  stone  fell  apart  and  there 
was  a  pathway  made  through  it  wherever 
the  Serpent  wanted  to  go. 

There  were  forests  in  the  Water-Tiger's 
country,  trees  with  leaves  like  the  willow, 
only  longer,  finer  and  broader,  bushes  and 
clumps  of  soft,  dark  grass. 

When  night  came  and  the  sun  no  longer 
shone  down  into  the  lodge  and  the  color 
went  out  of  the  walls,  there  were  fireflies 
— green,  blue,  crimson,  and  orange — that 
lighted  on  the  bushes  outside  the  Water- 
Tiger's  wigwam ;  and  the  most  beautiful 
of  them  passed  inside  and  fluttered  about 
the  throne  of  the  Serpent,  standing  guard 
over  her  while  the  purple  snails,  the  day 
sentinels,  slept. 

Snowbird  trembled  when  she  saw  these 


.tWl«?r 


,1 


) 


Snowbird  and  the  Water-Tiger  13 

things  and  fell  down  in  a  faint  before  the 
great  Horned  Serpent.  But  the  Water- 
Tiger  soothed  her,  for  he  loved  her  and 
wanted  her  to  become  his  wife.  This  she 
consented  to  do  at  last  on  condition  that 
she  should  be  allowed  to  go  back  sometimes 
to  the  lake  shore  to  see  her  child. 

The  Water-Tiger  consulted  his  mother, 
who  agreed  to  lend  him  a  sea-gull's  wing 
which  should  cover  his  wife  all  over  and 
enable  her  to  fly  to  the  shore.  He  was 
told,  however,  to  fasten  his  tail  securely 
about  her  waist,  lest  she  should  desert  him 
when  she  found  herself  near  her  old  home. 
He  did  so,  taking  care  to  put  a  leather 
belt  around  her,  for  fear  the  links  of  white 
metal  might  hurt  her  delicate  skin. 

So  she  lived  with  the  Water- Tiger,  kept 
his  lodge  in  order  and  made  moccasins  for 
the  little  water-tigers  out  of  beaver  skin 
and  dried  fish  scales,  and  was  as  happy  as 
she  could  have  been  anywhere  away  from 
her  own  Brown  Bear  and  Little  Pigeon. 

When  the  old  woman.  Brown  Bear's 
mother,  saw  them  at  the  door  of  the  wig- 
wam, she  leaped  up  and  flew  out  of  the 
lodge  and  was  never  seen  again. 


^ 


ti 


L*)A. 


^?^ 


THE  COYOTE  OR  PRAIRIE  WOLF. 


Q:t^.# 


^pjpi'T.^j^ 


THE   COYOTE  OR  PRAIRIE  WOLF. 

N  the  beginning,  when 
the  Cahrocs  lived  on  the 
shores  of  the  Klamath 
River,  beyond  the  desert 
of  the  sage-brush  and 
far  from  the  Rocky- 
mountains,  on  towards 
the  falling  place  of  the 
sun,  they  had  many  good  gifts.  Their 
forests  were  noble  and  their  deer  were 
stately  and  fat.  The  bear  was  fierce,  but 
his  flesh  was  sweet  and  life-giving,  and 
the  Cahrocs  grew  strong  by  feeding  upon 
it.  But  they  longed  for  the  gift  of  fire. 
In  the  evening  when  the  beautiful  red  ap- 
peared in  the  sky  they  looked  and  looked 
upon  it  and  wished  that  they  might  catch 
just  one  spark  from  the  fagots  in  the 
heavens. 

All  the  fire  in  the  world  at  that  time 
was  held  by  two  old  hags  who  lived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  watched  it  with 
jealous  care.  They  also  held  the  key  of  the 
dam  that  kept  back  the  shining  salmon. 

The  Cahrocs  hated  the  old  women  and 
sought  for  some  way  to  deceive  them,  so 
that  they  might  loose  the  salmon,  but 

17 


18 


American  Indian  Tales 


most  of  all  they  wanted  the  precious  fire; 
They  lay  and  shivered  under  the  thick 
bear-skin  robes,  for  the  nights  were  long 
and  cold  in  their  country,  and  the  north 
wind  blew  in  their  faces  and  cut  them 
sharply  with  his  spears  of  ice  and  his 
arrows  of  snow. 

They  tried  many  times  to  steal  the  fire. 
Those  rich  in  wampum  offered  to  buy  it, 
while  some  who  were  cunning  attempted 
to  wheedle  the  old  hags  into  giving  it  to 
them,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  At  last  they 
thought  of  asking  the  animals  to  help 
them.  But  who  so  cunning  and  so  brave 
as  to  undertake  the  task  ?  The  bear  was 
too  clumsy  and  growled  too  much,  the  elk 
was  too  tall  and  his  antlers  would  strike 
against  the  lodge  pole  of  the  wigwam; 
the  dog  was  not  wise,  and  the  serpent  was 
never  known  to  do  good  to  the  Cahrocs  or 
to  any  man. 

The  council  sat  and  smoked  and 
thought  about  the  matter  and  at  last  de- 
cided to  ask  the  Coyote,  for  he  was  lean 
and  hungry  and  might  be  glad  to  earn 
some  food.  Moreover,  he  would  feel 
proud  to  have  the  Cahrocs  ask  a  favor  of 
him,  for  even  the  meanest  beast  despised 
him  because  he  had  such  hard  work  to 
get  a  living. 


v^'':?i 


'^tnrr""" 


'^  The  Coyote  or  Prairie  Wolf     19     ^ifc;!^ 


So  they  went  to  see  the  Coyote.     His     /f  ??  J 
home  was  in  the  deserts  half  way  to  the 
mountains,  where  he  cowered  behind  the 
sage-brush,  from  whence  he  kept  a  sharp  <*. 

lookout  for  blood  spilled  by  the  hunter,  r^- 

the  flesh  that  he  threw  away,  or  animals 
small  and  weak  enough  for  him  to  be  able 
to  capture.  The  Coyote  must  forever  go 
hungry,  for  when  the  animals  were  let 
loose  uj)on  the  earth  and  each  sprang 
upon  its  prey,  the  mountain  sheep  which 
was  given  to  the  Coyote  dodged  him,  and 
ever  since  all  coyotes  blunder  in  the  chase. 

The  Cahrocs  found  him  sniffing  at  the 
ground  for  the  hunter's  trail.  He  felt 
flattered  when  he  knew  that  they  had 
come  to  see  him,  but  he  was  far  too  cun- 
ning to  show  it.  They  explained  their 
errand,  but  he  would  not  promise  to  do 
anything.  He  took  the  food  that  they 
offered  him,  some  dog's  meat,  buffalo 
steaks,  and  bear' s  kidney,  dainties  that  the 
Cahrocs  gave  to  an  honored  guest.  Then 
he  could  no  longer  conceal  his  pleasure, 
nor  refuse  to  do  what  they  asked  of  him. 

He  did  not  need  to  hunt  that  night,  so 
he  curled  himself  up  snugly,  put  his  nose 
under  his  paws,  whisked  his  tail  about  to 
keep  his  feet  warm,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  his  life  was  really  comfortable.     He 


'■"  '  '"^5»^ 


"^v^s-*        ^ 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


soon  fell  asleep,  but  not  before  lie  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  it  would  be  well  to 
do  his  best  for  the  Cahrocs ;  it  was  much 
better  than  hunting  in  the  desert. 

The  next  morning  he  set  out  early  to 
secure  help  from  other  animals,  for  he 
could  not  do  the  thing  alone.  The 
smaller  ones  did  not  dare  to  refuse  him, 
and  the  larger  ones  felt  sorry  for  the  poor 
creature,  and  were  willing  to  be  of  use  to 
him. 

The  Coyote  placed  a  frog  nearest  to  the 
camp  of  the  Cahrocs,  then  a  squirrel,  a 
bat,  a  bear,  and  a  cougar  at  certain  meas- 
ured distances,  arranged  in  proportion  to 
their  strength  and  to  the  roughness  of  the 
road.  Last  of  all  a  Cahroc  was  told  to 
hide  in  the  bushes  near  the  hut  where  the 
old  hags  lived. 

Then  the  Coyote  walked  slowly  up  to 
the  door  and  scratched  for  admittance. 
One  of  the  sisters  went  to  see  what  was 
wanted  and  she  let  him  in;  they  were 
surely  not  afraid  of  a  miserable  coyote. 
He  walked  wearily  to  the  center  of  the 
lodge,  where  he  dropped  down  as  if  tired 
out,  and  shivered  so  that  he  shook  the 
very  lodge  pole. 

The  two  old  hags  who  sat  by  the  fire 
cooking  salmon  turned  to  look  at  him, 


f.-f , 


s/ 


,**■'  «» 


The  Coyote  or  Prairie  Wolf    21 

and  one  of  tliem  said :  ' '  Come  up  near 
the  fire  if  you  are  cold,"  and  she  made 
room  for  him  directly  in  front  of  the 
blaze. 

He  dragged  himself  to  it  and  lay  with 
his  head  upon  his  paws.  When  he  grew 
uncomfortably  warm  he  gave  two  short 
barks  as  a  signal  to  the  man  outside. 

The  old  hags  thought  he  barked  because 
he  enjoyed  the  fire.  ''Ha!  ha!"  they 
said,  *'  wouldn't  the  Cahrocs  like  this  ?  " 

Just  then  there  was  a  fearful  noise  of 
hammering  and  of  stones  striking  the 
lodge.  The  old  women  rushed  out  to 
drive  the  enemy  away. 

Instantly  the  Coyote  seized  a  haK-burnt 
stick  of  wood  and  fled  like  a  comet  down 
the  trail  in  the  forest.  The  hags  pursued 
him ;  but  when  he  heard  their  shrieks  he 
ran  all  the  faster. 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  came,  now  they 
were  almost  upon  him  and  his  strength 
was  fast  giving  out.  By  a  great  effort  he 
flung  the  brand  from  him,  just  as  they  put 
out  their  hands  to  catch  him. 

The  Cougar  seized  it  and  ran  with  long 
bounds  down  the  winding  road.    The  hags 
followed,  but  were  no  match  for  him  and 
he  had  no  trouble  in  handing  it  over  to  ^ 
the  Bear.  • 


"^i^*^,^^^^-^^ 


V 


22 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


V-  (-- 


j>y^ 


The  Bear  was  very  awkward  and 
dropped  it  several  times  from  liis  clumsy 
paws,  so  that  the  old  women  gained  upon 
him  rapidly ;  and  had  it  not  been  that  the 
Bat  seized  it  and  flew  high  in  the  air  quite 
unexpectedly,  the  Cahrocs  would  never 
have  got  the  fire.  As  for  the  old  Bear,  he 
rolled  over  against  the  tree  exhausted. 

The  Bat  led  the  hags  a  roundabout  chase 
over  trees,  now  flying  high,  now  close  to 
their  very  heads,  until  he  nearly  tired  them 
out. 

They  took  courage  when  they  saw  the 
Squirrel  spring  forward  to  catch  the  stick 
that  the  Bat  let  fall  from  a  great  height. 
*^ Surely  we  can  catch  him,"  they  said; 
and  they  gathered  their  skirts  about  them 
and  pursued  him  with  furious  haste. 

All  this  time  the  brand  was  burning 
and  it  grew  so  hot  that  the  Squirrel  could 
hardly  hold  it.  But  he  was  a  brave,  little 
fellow  and  hopped  and  jumped  steadily 
on  through  the  woods,  though  his  tail  was 
burnt  so  badly  that  it  curled  up  over  his 
back  and  shoulders.  He  bears  the  marks 
of  the  singeing  to  this  day. 

Just  as  he  thought  he  would  have  to 
drop  it,  he  caught  sight  of  the  Frog.  It 
was  such  a  little  piece  by  this  time  that 
the  Frog  could  hardly  take  it  from  him, 


The  Coyote  or  Peairie  Wolf    23 


but  lie  caught  hold  of  it  and  ran  on.  The 
smoke  blinded  him  and  made  his  eyes 
smart,  besides  choking  him  so  that  he 
lost  ground,  and  soon  heard  the  hags  close 
to  him.  He  was  the  last,  and  only  a  pond 
lay  between  him  and  the  village  of  the 
Cahrocs.  His  heart  thumped  against  his 
sides  and  he  dropped  the  fire  in  order  to 
take  breath  before  jumping  into  the  water, 
when  the  old  women  pounced  upon  him. 

But  he  was  too  quick  for  them.  He 
dodged  them,  swallowed  the  brand  and 
jumped  into  the  lake.  They  leaped  after 
Mm,  but  it  was  of  no  use,  for  they  could 
not  swim.  So  he  got  away,  and  they  had 
fco  turn  back  and  go  to  their  hut  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river. 

The  Cahrocs  were  waiting  on  the  edge 
of  the  pond,  and  when  the  Frog  crossed 
they  welcomed  him  with  shouts  of  joy. 
But  where  was  the  fire  ?  He  lost  no  time 
in  showing  them,  for  he  spat  out  the 
sparks  upon  some  fagots  and  they  quickly 
caught  alight.  But  the  Frog  lost  his  tail 
and  it  never  grew  again.  Tadpoles  still 
wear  tails,  but  when  they  Ibecome  full- 
grown  frogs  they  cast  them  off,  out  of 
respect  to  their  brave  ancestor,  who  is 
king  of  all  the  animals  that  inhabit  the 
bogs  and  marshes  of  the  Klamath  country. 


mVf» 


A,  ,,«3'»=^-«''S!™*^  ■ 


^/x 


(y 


24  Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


After  his  success  in  getting  tlie  fire,  tlie 
Coyote  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
Cahrocs  and  dined  oif  the  choicest  bits 
that  were  brought  into  the  camp. 

They  were  not  satisfied  even  now  that 
they  had  roasted  meat  and  corn,  but  must 
needs  coax  the  Coyote  to  go  and  get  the 
salmon.  They  explained  to  him  that  the 
big,  shining  fish  were  all  in  a  great  dam 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  that  the  old 
hags  from  whom  he  had  stolen  the  fire 
kept  the  key. 

The  Coyote  was  willing,  but  he  said: 
* '  Wait  a  little  till  my  coat  changes  so 
that  the  hags  will  not  know  me." 

So  they  waited  till  his  coat  grew  thin 
and  light  in  color,  and  then  when  he  was 
ready,  accompanied  him,  with  song  and 
shouting,  to  the  edge  of  the  village. 

He  went  down  the  Klamath  many  days' 
journey,  until  he  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  where  he  saw  the  old  hags' 
lodge.  He  rapped  at  the  door.  They 
were  asleep  by  the  fire,  but  one  of  them 
being  roused  by  the  noise,  growled, 
'^  Come  in." 

Instead  of  hanging  his  head,  drooping 
his  tail,  and  looking  weary,  as  he  had  done 
when  he  went  to  steal  the  fire,  the  Coy- 
ote held  up  his  head,  frisked  his  tail 


^ 


The  Coyote  or  Prairie  Wolf    25 

and  grinned  at  them.  He  was  of  much 
greater  imj)ortance  now,  and  he  was  sleek 
and  round  from  being  well  fed,  so  the  hags 
did  not  know  him. 

They  cooked  salmon,  but  offered  him 
none.  He  said  nothing,  for  he  was  not 
hungry,  having  dined  off  food  that  the 
Cahrocs  had  prepared  for  him .  ' '  Ha  !  "  he 
thought,  **  I  shall  soon  have  all  the  salmon 
I  want  from  the  Cahrocs." 

The  next  morning  he  pretended  to  be 
asleep  when  the  elder  sister  arose  and 
went  to  the  cupboard  to  get  the  key  of 
the  dam.  She  was  going  for  salmon  for 
breakfast.  When  she  had  left  the  lodge 
he  stretched  himself  lazily  and  walked 
slowly  towards  the  door.  Once  outside 
he  ran  after  the  old  woman  and  flung 
himself  between  her  feet,  so  that  she  fell 
down  and  in  doing  so  dropped  the  key. 
He  seized  it,  went  to  the  dam  and  un- 
locked it. 

The  green  water  shining  with  silvery 
salmon  rushed  through  it  so  fast  that  it 
broke  not  only  the  lock,  but  the  dam  it- 
self, and  thereafter  the  Cahrocs  had  all 
the  salmon  that  they  wanted. 

The  Coyote  grew  proud  over  his  success 
and  was  not  satisfied  with  the  kindness 
and  honor  shown  to  him  by  the  Cahrocs. 


^    26  American  Indian  Tales 

IV 

He  wanted  to  dance  through  heaven.  He 
chose  a  bright  blue  Star  for  a  partner  and 
called  out  to  her  night  after  night  to 
dance  with  him.  At  last  she  grew  tired 
of  his  howling ;  so  one  night  she  told  him 
to  go  to  the  highest  point  of  the  cliff  and 
she  would  reach  down  far  enough  for  him 
to  dance  with  her. 

He  had  fine  sport  for  a  while ;  but  as  she 
lifted  him  higher  and  higher  he  began  to 
feel  cold,  until  his  paws  became  numb  and 
slipped  from  his  partner's  wrist,  and  he 
fell  into  the  great  chasm  that  is  between 
the  sky  and  the  earth  at  the  edge  of  the 
world.  He  went  down,  down,  until  e very- 
bit  of  him  was  lost ;  for  Coyotes  could  not 
be  permitted  to  dance  with  Stars. 


v.. 


HOW  MAD  BUFFALO  FOUGHT  THE 
THUNDER-BIRD. 


\-\-hC 


A:T> 


hi^''- 


1 


HOW  MAD  BUFFALO  FOUGHT  THE 
THUNDER-BIRD. 

NCE  upon  a  time  the  In- 
dians owned  all  the  land 
around  the  Big  Sea 
Water.  TheGood 
Spirit  had  smoked  the 
pil3e  of  peace  at  the 
Red-stone  quarry  and 
called  all  the  nations  to 
him.  At  his  command  they  washed  the 
war-paint  from  their  faces,  buried  their 
clubs  and  tomahawks  and  made  them- 
selves pipes  of  red  sand-stone  like  the  one 
that  he  had  fashioned.  They,  too,  smoked 
the  peace-pipe,  and  there  was  no  longer 
war  among  the  nations,  but  each  dwelt 
by  its  own  river  and  hunted  only  the  deer, 
the  beaver,  the  bear,  or  the  bison. 

In  those  happy  days  there  lived  on  that 
shore  of  the  Big  Sea  Water,  which  is 
directly  under  the  hunter's  star,  an  In- 
dian whom  all  his  nation  trusted,  for 
there  were  none  like  him  in  courage,  wis- 
dom, and  prudence.  From  his  early  child- 
hood they  had  looked  to  him  to  do  some 
great  deed. 

He  had  often  mastered  the  grizzly  bear 


iT^^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


and  the  strong  buffalo.  Once  lie  captured 
a  buffalo  ox,  so  large  and  so  strong  that 
a  dozen  arrows  did  not  kill  it,  and  from 
that  day  he  was  known  as  Mad  Buffalo. 

When  the  magic  horns  were  needed  for 
medicine  for  the  people.  Mad  Buffalo  went 
forth  in  the  Moon  of  Flowers  and  by  cun- 
ning, not  by  magic,  cut  them  from  the 
head  of  the  Great  Horned  Serpent.  For 
this  the  people  loved  him  and  he  sat  with 
the  oldest  and  the  wisest  of  the  tribe. 

Their  greatest  trouble  in  those  days  was 
the  mysterious  thunder-bird,  which  was 
often  seen  flying  through  the  air.  It  had 
black  and  ragged  wings,  and  as  it  moved 
swiftly  overhead  they  darkened  all  the 
earth.  On  moonlight  nights  no  harm 
^came ;  but  when  it  passed  in  the  daytime, 
'or  when  the  Moon-princess  was  journey- 
ing to  see  her  brother,  the  Sun-prince,  and 
her  shining  lodge  was  hidden  by  the 
beautiful  red,  the  thunder-bird  did  evil  to 
all  who  fell  under  its  shadow. 

Great  curiosity  existed  as  to  its  nest, 
but  no  one  had  dared  to  follow  it,  nor  had 
any  hunter  discovered  a  place  where  it 
seemed  likely  that  it  could  hide.  Some 
thought  it  lived  in  a  hollow  tree,  others 
that  its  home  was  in  the  sandstone  cav- 
erns, but  it  had  never  been  seen  to  alight. 


"  Pounced  upon  him,  and  lifted  him  into  the  air."  IH^jj^ 


m 


Mad  Buffalo 


31 


One  day  in  the  winter,  Mad  Buffalo  set 
out  in  search  of  food  for  his  family.  He 
had  to  travel  to  the  lodge  of  the  beavers 
across  the  Big  Sea  Water  and  far  up  the 
river.  He  trapped  a  fat  beaver,  slung  it 
over  his  shoulder  and  started  for  home 
just  as  the  full  moon  showed  through  the 
tree-tops. 

While  crossing  the  lake,  when  he  was 
in  sight  of  his  own  wigwam,  a  great 
shadow  passed  before  him,  shutting  out  all 
light.  After  it  had  gone  he  looked  about 
him  for  the  cause.  The  night  was  clear 
and  the  moon  so  bright  that  the  hunter's 
star  could  be  seen  but  faintly,  but  objects 
about  him  were  as  plain  as  in  the  day. 

At  first  he  saw  nothing,  for  the  thunder- 
bird  was  directly  over  his  head;  but  as 
it  circled  he  caught  sight  of  it.  It  made 
a  swift  movement  downwards,  pounced 
upon  him  and  lifted  him  with  all  he  had 
into  the  air. 

He  felt  himself  rising  slowly  till  he  was 
far  above  the  earth,  yet  not  so  far  as  to 
prevent  him  seeing  what  was  going  on  in 
the  village.  He  could  even  see  his  own 
wigwam  and  his  children  in  the  doorway. 
They  saw  him  and  were  terribly  fright- 
ened. Their  mother  failed  to  comfort 
them,   for  they  knew  by  heart  all  the 


I 
II 


MK\ 


w 


American  Indian  Tales 


dreadful  tales  that  were  told  of  the 
thunder-bird.  They  themselves  had  seen 
the  beautiful  birch  tree  which  they  had 
often  climbed,  torn  up  by  the  roots  and 
lie  black  and  dead  in  the  forest.  And  the 
oak  tree  where  the  warriors  assembled 
was  split  to  its  base  by  this  terrible  creat- 
ure. The  yellow  cedar  whose  boughs  were 
used  for  the  canoe  that  sailed  on  the  Big 
Sea  Water  was  scorched  and  blighted  by 
the  thunder-bird. 

Mad  Buffalo's  heart  did  not  fail  him. 
He  grasped  his  spear  firmly  and  waited 
his  chance  to  do  battle  with  the  monster. 
Faster  and  faster  they  went  towards  the 
north,  straight  across  the  Big  Sea  Water, 
rising  higher  and  higher  in  the  air. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  great  mountain 
where  no  trees  grew.  The  top  was  a  solid, 
bare,  rugged  rock,  while  the  sides  were 
formed  of  sharp  boulders,  with  here  and 
there  a  small  patch  of  coarse  grass  and  a 
few  stunted  furze  bushes.  In  a  cleft  of 
the  highest  rock  overhanging  the  water 
was  the  nest  of  the  thunder-bird.  It  was 
made  of  the  tendons  of  human  beings, 
woven  with  their  scalp  locks  and  the 
feathers  they  had  worn  when  living. 

Still  Mad  Buffalo  was  not  afraid.  As 
the  bird  neared  its  home  it  croaked  and 


•— N 


muttered,  and  the  sound  was  echoed  and 
re-echoed  till  the  noise  was  deafening. 
Worse  than  this,  the  creature  tried  to 
dash  him  against  the  rock,  driving  him 
towards  it  with  its  wings ;  and  when  these 
struck  him  his  flesh  stung  and  smarted  as 
if  touched  by  coals  of  fire. 

By  violently  wrenching  himself  and 
balancing  his  spear,  he  managed  to  escape 
uninjured.  At  length  with  one  powerful 
blow  the  bird  drove  him  into  its  nest.  It 
then  flew  away. 

Mad  Buffalo  was  stunned,  but  only  for 
a  moment.  On  coming  to  himself  he 
heard  a  low  crackling  noise  of  thunder 
^^  and  found  that  he  was  left  to  the  mercy 
of  a  brood  of  wild,  hungry  young  thun- 
ders, for  whose  food  he  had  probably  been 
brought.  They  began  at  once  to  pick  at 
his  head,  uttering  croaks  like  the  old  bird, 
only  not  so  loud ;  but  as  they  were  many 
the  sound  was,  if  possible,  more  dreadful. 

Seeing  that  they  were  young  birds,  Mad 
Buffalo  supposed  they  would  be  helpless ; 
and  when  the  old  bird  was  out  of  sight  he 
ventured  to  fight  them.  Raising  himself 
as  well  as  he  could,  he  struck  at  one  with 
his  spear.  Thereupon  they  all  set  upon 
him,  beating  him  with  their  wings  and 
blinking  at  him  with  their  long,  narrow, 


34 


American  Indian  Tales 


\^^ 


blood-red  eyes,  from  whicli  darted  flashes 
of  lightning  that  scorched  his  hands  and 
face.  In  spite  of  the  pain  he  fought 
bravely;  though,  when  they  struck  him 
with  their  sharp  wings,  it  was  like  the 
prick  of  a  poisoned  arrow  or  the  sting  of 
a  serpent. 

One  by  one  their  strength  failed  them 
and  they  were  beaten  down  into  the  nest. 
Mad  Buffalo  took  hold  of  the  largest  and 
strongest,  wrung  its  neck  and  threw  it 
over  the  precipice.  On  seeing  this  the 
others  crept  close  together  and  did  not 
offer  to  touch  him  again. 

He  seized  another,  pulled  out  its  heart, 
threw  the  body  away  and  spread  the  skin 
over  the  edge  of  the  nest  to  dry.  Then 
filling  his  pipe  from  a  pouch  of  wolf  skin 
suspended  from  his  belt,  he  sat  down 
to  smoke.  While  resting  he  wrung  the 
necks  of  the  other  birds  and  threw  them 
into  the  Big  Sea  Water,  saving  only  their 
hearts  and  claws. 

When  he  had  killed  them  all  he  took 
four  short  whiffs  at  his  pipe,  pointing  as 
he  did  so  to  the  kingdoms  of  the  four 
winds,  and  asking  them  for  assistance. 
Then  he  got  inside  the  dry  skin,  fastened 
it  round  him  with  the  claws  he  had  saved, 
put  the  hearts  of  the  young  thunders  on 


jf 


Mad  Buffalo 


his  spear  and  started  to  roll  down  the  side 
of  the  mountain. 

As  he  tumbled  from  rock  to  rock  the 
feathers  of  the  skin  flashed  like  fire- 
insects.  When  he  was  about  half  way 
down  he  straightened  himself  out  and, 
lifting  the  wings  with  his  arms,  found 
that  he  could  fly.  He  moved  slowly  at 
first,  but  was  soon  used  to  the  motion  and 
went  as  fast  as  the  great  bird  could  have 
done.    L" 

He  crossed  the  Big  Sea  Water  and 
winged  his  way  over  the  forest  until  he 
came  to  the  place  from  which  he  had  been 
taken  ten  days  before.  There  he  alighted, 
tore  off  the  bird's  skin  and  started  home- 
wards. 

His  wife  and  children  could  hardly 
believe  that  it  was  he ;  for  they  supposed 
the  young  thunders  had  long  ago  picked 
his  bones.  He  broiled  the  hearts  of  the 
birds,  which  crackled  and  hissed  so  that 
they  could  be  heard  a  mile  from  the 
wigwam,  but  the  meat  was  juicy  and 
tender. 

The  old  bird  was  never  seen  again  in 
that  part  of  the  country.  Hunters  who 
came  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  say  that 
it  built  a  nest  on  the  highest  peak,  where 
it  raised  another  brood  that  sometimes 


m 


w 


i-\-hc^ 


^ 


Amekican  Indian  Tales 


came  down  towards  the  earth,  despoiling 
the  forests  and  the  grain  fields.  But  they 
flew  higher  than  formerly,  and  from  the 
day  that  Mad  Buffalo  fought  them  they 
never  interfered  with  men.  Their  nest 
henceforth  was  made  of  the  bones  of  the 
mountain  goat  and  the  hair  of  his  beard. 
Now  when  Indian  children  hear  the 
fire  crackling  they  say  it  is  the  hearts 
of  the  young  thunders ;  for  all  their  na- 
tions know  of  the  brave  deed  of  Mad 
Buffalo. 


THE  RED  SWAN. 


^1^ 


THE   RED    SWAN. 

GREAT  chief ,  Red  Thun- 
der,  was  traveling  with 
his  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren to  a  council  of  the 
nations.  When  they 
were  near  the  place  ap- 
pointed for  the  meeting, 
one  of  the  children  saw 
a  beautiful  white  bird  winging  its  way 
high  in  the  air.  He  pointed  upwards, 
clapping  his  hands  with  delight,  for  it  was 
flying  swiftly  towards  the  earth  and  the 
sun  was  shining  on  its  broad  back  and 
wings. 

While  the  smile  was  on  their  faces  the 
bird  suddenly  appeared  above  them,  and 
in  a  moment  struck  their  mother  to  the 
earth,  driving  her  into  the  ground  so  that 
no  portion  of  her  body  remained.  The 
force  of  the  blow  was  so  great  that  the 
bird  itself  was  broken  in  pieces  and  its 
plumes  were  scattered  far  and  wide.  The 
Indians  assembled  at  the  council,  rushed 
forth  eagerly  to  secure  them ;  for  a  white 
feather  is  not  easily  procured  and  is 
highly  prized  in  time  of  war. 

Red  Thunder  stood  speechless  in  his 


.^:k\ 


>3'^««^^ 


^>^a 


American  Iis^DiAisr  Tales 


great  agony.  Then  taking  Ms  little  ones 
with  him  he  lied  into  the  forest,  and  no 
man  ever  saw  him  again.  He  built 
himself  a  lodge  and  never  passed  far  from 
its  doorway.  When  Winter  shook  his 
white  locks  and  covered  the  land  with 
snow,  Red  Thunder  fell,  shot  by  an  unseen 
arrow. 

Thus  the  three  boys  were  left  alone. 
Even  the  eldest  was  not  large  enough  or 
strong  enough  to  bring  home  much  food, 
and  all  that  they  could  do  was  to  set  snares 
for  rabbits.  The  animals  were  sorry  for 
them  and  took  them  in  charge.  The 
squirrels  dropped  nuts  at  their  doorway, 
and  a  great  brown  bear  kept  guard  over 
them  at  night.  They  were  too  young  to 
remember  much  of  their  parents,  and  they 
were  brave  boys,  who  tried  their  best  to 
learn  how  to  hunt  and  fish.  The  eldest 
soon  became  skillful  and  he  taught  his 
brothers. 

When  they  were  all  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves,  the  eldest  wanted  to  leave 
them  and  go  to  see  the  world,  to  find 
other  lodges  and  bring  home  vdves  for 
each  of  them.  The  younger  ones  would 
not  hear  of  this,  and  said  that  they  had 
gone  along  so  far  well  without  strangers, 
and  they  could  still  do  without  them.     So 


r^ 


JM 


they  continued  to  live  together   and  no 
more  was  said  about  any  of  them  leaving. 

One  day  they  wanted  new  quivers  for 
their  arrows.  One  made  his  of  otter, 
another  chose  sheep,  and  a  third  took 
wolf  skin.  Then  they  thought  it  well  to 
make  new  arrows.  They  made  many, 
some  being  of  oak  and  a  few,  very  pre- 
cious, of  the  thigh-bone  of  the  buck.  It 
took  them  much  longer  to  fashion  the 
heads  of  flint  and  sandstone ;  but  at  last 
all  were  finished,  and  they  were  ready  for 
a  grand  hunt.  They  laid  wagers  with  one 
another  as  to  who  should  come  in  first  with 
game,  each  one  agreeing  to  kill  only  the 
animal  he  was  in  the  habit  of  taking,  and 
not  to  meddle  with  what  he  knew  belonged 
to  his  brother. 

The  youngest,  named  Deep  Voice,  had 
not  gone  far  when  he  met  a  black  bear, 
which  according  to  the  agreement  he  was 
not  to  kill.  But  the  animal  was  so  close 
to  him  that  he  could  not  refrain  from  tak- 
ing aim.  The  bear  fell  dead  at  his  feet. 
His  scruples  were  gone  then,  so  he  began 
skinning  it. 

Soon  his  eyes  troubled  him  and  he 
rubbed  them  with  his  bloody  hands, 
when,  on  looking  up,  everything  appeared 
red.     He  went  to  the  brook  and  washed 


,»«»^v 


42 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


his  hands  and  face,  but  the  same  red  hue 
was  still  on  the  trees,  the  ground,  and 
even  on  the  skin  of  the  black  bear.  He 
heard  a  strange  noise,  and  leaving  the 
animal  partly  skinned,  v^ent  to  see 
whence  it  came. 

By  following  the  sound  he  came  to  the 
shore  of  a  great  lake,  where  he  saw  a 
beautiful  swan  swimming.  Its  feathers 
were  not  like  those  of  any  other  swan  he 
had  ever  seen,  for  they  were  a  brilliant 
scarlet  and  glistened  in  the  sun. 

He  drew  one  of  his  arrows  and  fired  at  it, 
but  the  arrow  fell  short  of  its  mark.  He 
shot  again  and  again  until  his  quiver  was 
empty.  Still  the  swan  remained  dipping 
its  long  neck  into  the  water,  seemingly 
ignorant  of  the  hunter's  presence. 

Then  he  remembered  that  three  magic 
arrows  which  had  belonged  to  his  father 
were  in  the  wigwam.  At  any  other  time 
he  would  not  have  thought  of  meddling 
with  them ;  but  he  was  determined  to  se- 
cure this  beautiful  bird.  He  ran  quickly 
to  the  lodge,  brought  the  arrows  and  fired 
them.  The  first  went  very  near  the  bird, 
but  did  not  strike  it.  The  second  also  fell 
harmless  in  the  water.  The  third  struck 
the  swan  in  the  neck ;  but  she  rose  imme- 
diately and  flew  towards  the  setting  sun. 


i 

t 


t 


t>'-V  J 


The  Red  Swan 


43 


Deep  Voice  was  disappointed,  and 
knowing  that  his  brothers  would  be 
angry  about  the  loss  of  the  arrows,  he 
rushed  into  the  water  and  secured  the 
first  two,  but  found  that  the  third  had 
been  carried  off  by  the  red  swan. 

He  thought  that  as  the  bird  was 
wounded  it  could  not  fly  far,  so,  placing 
the  magic  arrows  in  his  quiver,  he  ran  on 
to  overtake  it.  Over  hills  and  prairies, 
through  the  forests  and  out  on  the  plain 
he  went,  till  at  last  it  grew  dark  and  he 
lost  sight  of  the  swan. 

On  coming  out  of  the  forest  he  heard 
voices  in  the  distance,  and  knew  that 
people  could  not  be  far  off.  He  looked 
about  and  saw  a  large  town  on  a  distant 
hill  and  heard  the  watchman,  an  old  owl, 
call  out,  ' '  We  are  visited, ' '  to  which  the 
people  answered  with  a  loud  ' '  Hallo !  ' ' 

Deep  Voice  approached  the  watchman 
and  told  him  that  he  came  for  no  evil 
purpose,  but  merely  to  ask  for  shelter. 
The  owl  said  nothing,  but  led  him  to  the 
lodge  of  the  Chief,  and  told  him  to  enter. 

' '  Come  in,  come  in, ' '  said  the  Chief ; 
*'sit  there,"  he  added,  as  the  young  man 
appeared. 

He  was  given  food  to  eat  and  but  few 
questions  were  asked  him. 


j^^^n 


44 


AMERicAisr  Indian  Tales 


^\y 


By  and  by  tlie  Chief,  who  had  been 
watching  him  closely,  said,  ^ '  Daughter, 
take  our  son-in-law's  moccasins,  and  if 
they  need  mending,  do  it  for  him." 

Deep  Voice  was  much  astonished  to 
find  himself  married  at  such  short  notice, 
but  made  up  his  mind  to  let  one  of  his 
brothers  have  her  for  his  wife.  She  was 
not  good-looking  and  she  proved  herself 
bad-tempered  by  snatching  the  moccasins 
in  such  a  surly  manner  that  Deep  Voice 
ran  after  her,  took  them  from  her  and 
hung  them  up  himself. 

Being  very  tired  he  soon  fell  asleep. 
Early  next  morning  he  said  to  the  girl : 

Which  way  did  the  red  swan  go  ?  " 

''Do  you  think  you  can  catch  it?" 
she  said,  and  turned  angrily  away. 

''  Yes,"  he  answered. 

''Foolishness!"  said  the  girl;  but  as 
he  persisted,  she  went  to  the  door  and 
showed  him  the  direction  in  which  the 
bird  had  flown. 

It  was  still  dark,  and  as  the  road  was 
strange  to  him  he  traveled  slowly.  When 
daylight  came  he  started  to  run  and  ran 
all  day  as  fast  as  he  could.  Towards 
night  he  was  almost  exhausted  and  was 
glad  to  find  himself  near  another  village, 
where  he  might  be  able  to  rest. 


a 


r 


'►'.•f, 


l#. 


/** 


■wf 


V 


u 


W  ' 


^h^ 


ifv 


^m^ 


The  Red  Swan 


This  village  also  had  an  owl  for  a 
watchman,  a  large,  gray  bird,  who  saw  him 
at  a  distance  and  called  to  those  in  the 
camp,  ^'Tu-who!  we  are  visited." 

Deep  Voice  was  shown  to  the  lodge  of 
the  Chief  and  treated  exactly  as  on  the 
first  night.  This  time  the  Chief's  daugh- 
ter was  beautiful  and  gentle  in  her  ways. 
^ '  She  shall  be  for  my  elder  brother, ' ' 
thought  the  boy,  ' '  for  he  has  always  been 
kind  to  me." 

He  slept  soundly  all  night  and  it  was 
nearly  dawn  when  he  awoke ;  but  he  lost 
no  time,  for  the  Chief's  daughter  was 
ready  to  answer  his  questions  at  once. 
She  told  him  the  red  swan  had  passed 
about  the  middle  of  the  previous  after- 
noon, showed  him  the  exact  course  it  took 
and  pointed  out  the  shortest  road  to  the 
prairie. 

He  went  slowly  until  sunrise  and  then 
ran  as  before.  He  was  a  swift  runner,  for 
he  could  shoot  an  arrow  and  then  pass  it 
in  its  flight  so  that  it  would  fall  behind 
him.  He  did  this  many  times  on  the 
second  day,  for  it  helped  him  to  travel 
faster.  Towards  evening,  not  seeing  any 
town,  he  went  more  leisurely,  thinking 
that  he  would  have  to  travel  all  night. 

Soon  after  dark  he  saw  a  glow  of  light 


^^\!^ 


;-j>»=^-T.>'V'.  ^TTi 


""^ 


46 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


^i^'$ 

"i 


:^>5^ 


in  the  woods,  and  found  when  lie  went 
nearer  that  it  came  from  a  small,  low 
lodge.  He  went  cautiously  on  and  looked 
in  at  the  doorway.  An  old  man  was  sit- 
ting by  the  fire,  his  head  bent  forward  on 
his  breast. 

Although  Deep  Voice  had  not  made  the 
slightest  noise  the  old  man  called  out, 
*'  Come  in,  my  grandson. '^ 

The  boy  entered. 

^  *  Take  a  seat  there, ' '  said  the  old  man, 
pointing  to  a  corner  opposite  him  by  the 
fire.  ^'Now  dry  your  things,  for  you 
must  be  tired,  and  I  will  cook  supper  for 
you.  My  kettle  of  water  stands  near  the 
fire." 

Deep  Voice  had  been  looking  about  the 
fireplace,  but  had  seen  no  kettle.  Now 
there  appeared  a  small  earthen  pot  filled 
with  water.  The  old  man  took  one  grain 
of  corn  and  one  whortleberry,  dropped 
them  into  the  bot  and  set  it  where  it 
would  boil.  Deep  Voice  was  hungry  and 
thought  to  himself  that  there  was  small 
chance  of  a  good  supper. 

When  the  water  boiled  the  old  man 
took  the  kettle  off,  handed  him  a  dish 
and  spoon  made  of  the  same  material  as 
the  pot  and  told  him  to  help  himself. 

Deep  Voice  found  the  soup  so  good  that 


'^t"^'" 


^ 


"^* 


The  Red  Swan 


47 


he  helped  himself  again  and  again  nntil 
he  had  taken  all  there  was.  He  felt 
ashamed,  but  he  was  still  hungry. 

Before  he  could  speak,  the  old  man 
said,  ^'Eat,  eat,  my  grandchild,  help 
yourself, ' '  and  motioned  to  the  pot,  which 
was  immediately  refilled. 

Deep  Voice  again  helped  himself  to  all 
the  soup  and  again  the  kettle  was  filled, 
and  his  hunger  was  satisfied.  Then  the 
pot  vanished. 

^'My  grandchild,"  said  the  old  man, 
when  Deep  Voice  had  finished,  "  you  have 
set  out  on  a  difficult  journey,  but  you  will 
succeed.  Only  he  determined,  and  be  pre- 
pared for  whatever  may  happen.  To- 
morrow you  will  go  on  your  way  until  the 
sun  sets,  when  you  will  find  one  of  my 
fellow-magicians.  He  will  give  you  food 
and  shelter  and  will  tell  you  more  than  I 
am  permitted  to  do.  Only  he  firm  On 
the  day  beyond  to-morrow  you  will  meet 
still  another  who  will  tell  you  all  you 
wish  to  know  and  how  you  are  to  gain 
your  wish." 

Deep  Voice  lay  down  on  the  buffalo 
skins,  which  were  white  and  soft,  and 
slept  soundly;  for  the  old  man's  words 
made  him  very  happy. 

The  magician  prepared  his  breakfast  as 


<^ 


^K\ 


'W/ 


^■ 


48  American  Indian  Tales 

he  liad  done  the  supper,  after  which  the 
boy  went  on  his  way.  He  found  the  second 
magician  as  he  had  been  told,  and  was 
given  a  supper  from  a  magic  kettle,  and  a 
couch  upon  white  buffalo  robes. 

The  second  magician  did  not  seem  so 
sure  of  the  young  man's  success.  ' '  Many 
have  gone  this  way  before  you, ' '  said  he, 
' '  and  none  have  ever  come  back.  We  shall 
see,  we  shall  see." 

This  was  said  to  try  the  courage  of 
Deep  Voice ;  but  he  remembered  what  the 
first  magician  had  told  him  and  was  firm 
in  his  resolution. 

After  breakfast  next  day  he  ran  for- 
ward quickly,  for  he  was  anxious  to  meet 
the  third  magician  who  should  tell  him 
all  about  the  red  swan.  But  though  he 
ran  all  day  he  did  not  get  to  the  third 
lodge  any  earlier  than  he  had  reached  the 
others. 

After  a  supper  prepared  as  on  the  pre- 
vious nights,  the  magician  said  to  him : 
''My  grandchild,  to-morrow  night  you 
will  come  to  the  lodge  of  the  Red  Swan. 
She  is  not  a  bird,  but  a  beautiful  girl,  the 
most  beautiful  that  ever  lived.  Her  father 
is  a  magician  and  rich  in  wampum.  This 
wampum  is  of  much  value,  for  many  of 
the  shells  were  brought  from  the  Great 


/ 


1> 


The  Red  Swan 


49 


Salt  Lake ;  but  he  prizes  his  daughter  far 
more  than  all.  The  Ked  Swan  loves  her 
father,  and  all  her  life  is  spent  in  making 
him  comfortable.  The  old  man  has  met 
with  a  misfortune,  having  lost  his  cap  of 
wampum  which  used  to  be  fastened  to  his 
scalp  and  was  never  removed,  night  or  day. 
A  tribe  of  Indians,  who  had  heard  of  it, 
one  day  sent  to  him,  saying  that  their 
Chief's  daughter  was  very  ill  and  that 
but  one  thing  could  cure  her — a  sight  of 
this  magic  cap  of  wampum.  The  magician 
did  not  suspect  the  messengers,  though 
he  tried  to  persuade  them  to  bring  the 
maiden  to  him.  They  declared  that  she 
could  not  be  moved ;  whereupon  the  old 
man  tore  off  his  cap,  though  it  gave  him 
much  pain  to  do  so,  and  sent  it  to  the 
Chief.  The  story  was  all  a  pretense ;  and 
when  they  got  the  cap  they  made  fun  of 
it  and  placed  it  on  a  pole  for  the  birds  to 
peck  at,  and  the  stranger  to  ridicule.  The 
old  man  is  not  strong  enough  to  get  the 
cap  back ;  but  he  has  been  told  that  a 
young  warrior  shall  some  day  procure  it 
for  him.  The  Red  Swan  goes  forth  in 
in  the  Moon  of  Falling  Leaves  to  seek  for 
this  Brave,  and  she  has  promised  to  be  the 
wife  of  him  who  is  successful.  My  grand- 
child, many  have  followed  her  and  have 


A?. 


50 


American  Indian  Tales 


failed,  bnt  I  think  you  will  be  more  fa- 
vored. When  you  are  seated  in  the  lodge 
of  the  Eed  Swan,  the  magician  will  ask 
you  many  things.  Tell  him  your  dreams 
and  what  your  guardian  spirits  have  done 
for  you.  Then  he  will  ask  you  to  recover 
his  cap  of  wampum  and  will  show  you 
what  you  are  to  do  to  find  and  punish  the 
wicked  possessors  of  it." 

Deep  Voice  was  greatly  pleased  to  hear 
that  he  might  win  such  a  beautiful  wife. 
He  leaped  and  ran  gaily  through  the 
forest  the  next  day,  and  the  idea  that 
he  might  fail  never  entered  his  mind. 
Towards  evening  he  heard  deep  groans, 
which  he  believed  came  from  the  lodge  of 
the  Red  Swan. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  reached  a  fine 
wigwam,  and  on  entering  saw  the  magi- 
cian seated  in  the  center,  holding  his 
head  with  both  hands  and  moaning  with 
pain. 

The  old  man  prepared  supper,  for  no 
one  was  allowed  to  see  the  Red  Swan,  or 
even  to  know  that  she  was  in  the  wig- 
wam. But  Deep  Voice  saw  a  curtain 
dividing  the  lodge,  and  thought  that  he 
heard  a  rustle  of  wings. 

His  heart  did  not  fail  him,  and  he 
answered  the  old  man's    questions  pa- 


\«r^ 


--3^t^-^ 


The  Red  Swan 


51 


tiently  and  truthfully.  When  he  told 
his  dreams,  the  magician  shook  his  head, 
saying,  ' '  No,  that  is  not  the  one,  that  is 
not  it,"  to  each,  until  Deep  A^oice  thought 
he  would  not  tell  him  any  more.  He  was 
not  willing,  however,  to  give  up  the  Red 
Swan,  so  at  last  he  remembered  a  dream 
wholly  different  from  the  others,  which 
he  straightway  told. 

The  magician  became  quite  excited 
before  he  had  finished  his  story,  and  ex- 
claimed :  ''  That's  it,  that's  it !  You  will 
cause  me  to  live !  That  is  what  I  have  been 
waiting  for  a  young  man  to  say.  Will 
you  go  and  get  my  cap  for  me  ?  ' ' 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  Deep  Voice,  '  ^  and  on  the 
day  beyond  to-morrow  when  you  hear  the 
voice  of  the  night-hawk,  you  must  put 
your  head  out  of  the  door  of  the  lodge. 
You  will  see  me  coming  with  the  cap, 
which  I  will  fasten  on  your  head  before  I 
enter.  The  magic  food  that  I  have  eaten 
has  given  me  the  power  to  change  my 
form,  so  I  shall  come  as  a  night-hawk, 
and  will  give  the  cry  to  let  you  know 
that  I  am  successful.  Have  ready  your 
war-club  that  I  may  seize  it  to  strike 
with  when  I  come." 

Deep  Voice  had  not  known  when  he 
began  speaking  what  he  would  say,  but 


American  Indiat^  Tales 


as  the  magician  looked  at  him  the  words 
came.  In  spite  of  all  the  tales  that  he 
had  heard  about  the  young  men  who  had 
gone  before  him,  and  the  magician  told 
him  many  that  night,  Deep  Voice  was 
anxious  to  begin  his  task.  He  rose  early 
and  went  in  the  direction  pointed  out  to 
him. 

When  he  saw  the  cap  at  a  distance  he 
thought  that  no  one  was  near  it ;  but  as 
he  went  nearer  he  found  that  those  about 
it  were  as  the  hanging  leaves  for  number. 
Knowing  that  he  could  not  pass  unharmed 
through  so  great  a  crowd,  he  changed  him- 
self into  a  humming-bird  and  flew  close 
enough  to  the  cap  to  examine  it,  but  did 
not  touch  it,  for  fear  an  arrow  might  be 
aimed  at  him. 

The  cap  was  tied  securely  to  a  tall  pole 
and  no  bird  could  unfasten  it  without  his 
actions  being  noticed.  Deep  Voice,  there- 
fore, changed  himself  into  the  down  of  a 
dandelion  and  lighted  n  the  cap  itself. 
He  thrust  his  silver  fingers  under  and 
between  the  cords,  untied  them,  and 
lifted  the  cap  slowly,  for  it  was  a  great 
weight  for  so  small  a  thing  to  carry. 

When  the  crowd  below  saw  the  cap 
moving,  and  that  it  was  being  carried  away, 
they  raised  a  great  shout  and  ran  after  it, 


"  He  flew  swiftly  toward  the  magician's  lodge." 


w 


V 


\l 


..^%^ 


^l^f^^*5S 


The  Red  Swan 


shooting  clouds  of  arrows  as  they  went. 
The  wind  which  blew  the  arrows  blew  the 
down  out  of  their  reach ;  so  it  was  soon 
far  enough  from  them  to  be  safe  for  Deep 
Voice  to  take  the  form  of  a  bird.  As  a 
night-hawk  he  flew  swiftly  towards  the 
magician's  lodge,  giving  the  call  he  had 
named  as  a  signal. 

The  old  man  heard  him  and  looked  out. 
Deep  Voice  flew  close  to  him  and  dropped 
the  cap  upon  his  head;  then  changing 
himself  into  a  man,  he  seized  the  war- 
club  which  the  magician  had  placed  just 
outside  the  lodge,  and  with  one  power- 
ful blow  fastened  the  cap  securely,  but 
knocked  the  old  man  senseless.  When 
he  recovered,  what  was  the  surprise  of  , 
Deep  Voice  to  see,  not  the  old  magician 
who  had  entertained  him,  but  a  handsome 
young  warrior  who  said  to  him,  ' '  Thank 
you,  mj  friend,  for  the  bravery  and  kind- 
ness by  which  you  have  restored  my  youth 
and  strength." 

He  urged  Deep  Voice  to  remain  in  his 
lodge  as  his  guest.  They  hunted  togeth- 
er many  days  and  became  fast  friends. 
At  last  Deep  Voice  wished  to  return  to 
his  brothers.  The  young  magician  then 
brought  out  gifts — buffalo  robes  and  deer 
skin  white  as  snow,  strings  and  belts  of 


^^ 


&% 


» 


Vj  Si^ 


54 


American  Indian  Tales 


v^ 


0»*5l«Sij. 


wampum,  as  mucli  as  lie  could  carry, 
enough  to  make  him  a  great  man  in  any- 
country. 

During  all  his  stay  nothing  had  been 
said  about  the  Ked  Swan.  This  day,  as 
they  were  smoking  their  farewell  pipe, 
the  young  magician  said  to  Deep  Voice : 
* '  My  brother,  you  know  the  reward  that 
was  to  be  for  him  who  restored  my  cap  of 
wampum.  I  have  given  you  riches  that 
will  be  all  that  you  will  want  as  long  as 
you  live.  I  now  give  you  the  best  gift 
of  all." 

At  this  the  Red  Swan  appeared. 

* '  Take  her, ' '  said  the  magician ; 
is  my  sister,  let  her  be  your  wife." 

So  Deep  Voice  and  the  Red  Swan  went 
home  by  the  way  he  came,  stopping  at  the 
lodges  of  the  old  magicians  to  take  with 
them  the  wives  for  his  brothers.  The  Red 
Swan  far  surpassed  them  in  beauty  and 
loveliness,  and  her  daughters  and  their 
daughters  have  ever  been  known  as  the 
handsomest  women  of  the  tribe. 


u 


she 


j^Lk 


-.'>■. 


"^^1^1 


-^ 


THE  BENDED  ROCKS. 


^^« 


,^,.^9|^' 


'SSiS(S<'    't-.,^i 


MS?"^ 


,r> 


\ 


THE  BENDED  HOCKS. 

A   STOKY    OF   NIAGARA. 

ENDING  WILLOW  was 

the  most  beautiful  girl 
in  a  tribe  noted  for  its 
handsome  women.  She 
had  many  suitors,  but 
she  refused  them  all ;  for 
her  love  was  given  to  a 
young  warrior  of  a  dis- 
tant nation,  who,  she  felt  sure,  would  some 
day  return  to  throw  a  red  deer  at  her  feet 
in  token  that  he  wished  to  marry  her. 

Among  her  suitors  was  a  hideous  old 
Indian,  a  chief  who  was  very  rich.  He 
was  scarred  and  wrinkled  and  his  hair 
was  as  gray  as  the  badger  that  burrows 
in  the  forest.  He  was  cruel  also,  for 
when  the  young  men  were  put  to  the  tor- 
ture to  prove  themselves  worthy  to  be 
warriors,  he  devised  tests  more  dreadful 
than  any  that  the  tribe  had  ever  known. 
But  the  chief,  who  was  rightly  named  No 
Heart,  declared  that  he  would  marry  Bend- 
ing Willow,  and,  as, he  was  powerful,  her 
parents  did  not  dare  to  refuse  him.  Bend- 
ing Willow  begged  and  pleaded  in  vain. 

57 


(^rV'^f 


\   r   .{ 


/BPJss-.-. 


o- 


Viifv'^-^l^ 


58  Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

On  the  night  before  the  day  set  for  the 
marriage,  she  went  into  the  woods,  and 
throwing  herself  on  the  ground,  sobbed 
as  if  her  heart  would  break.  All  night 
she  lay  there,  listening  to  the  thunder  of 
the  great  cataract  of  Niagara,  which  was 
but  a  woman's  journey  from  the  village. 
At  last  it  suggested  to  her  a  sure  means 
of  escape. 

Early  in  the  morning  before  any  one 
was  stirring,  she  went  back  to  her  father's 
wigwam,  took  his  canoe  and  dragged  it 
to  the  edge  of  the  river.  Then  stepping 
into  it  she  set  it  adrift  and  it  headed 
quickly  towards  the  Falls.  It  soon 
reached  the  rapids  and  was  tossed  like  a 
withered  branch  on  the  white-crested  bil- 
lows, but  went  on,  on,  swiftly  and  surely 
to  the  edge  of  the  great  fall. 

For  a  moment  only,  she  sa^  the  bright, 
green  water,  and  then  she  felt  herself 
lifted  and  was  borne  on  great,  white  wings 
which  held  her  above  the  rocks.  The 
water  divided  and  she  passed  into  a  dark 
cave  behind  the  rainbow. 

The  spirit  of  Cloud  and  Kain  had  gone 
to  her  rescue  and  had  taken  her  into  his 
lodge.  He  was  a  little,  old  man,  with  a 
white  face  and  hair  and  beard  of  soft, 
white  mist,  like  that  which  rises  day  and 


H>^ 


1 


V-i^ 


The  Bended  Rocks 


night  from  the  b  ase  of  the  Falls.  The 
door  of  his  lodge  was  the  green  wave  of 
Niagara,  and  the  walls  were  of  gray  rock 
studded  with  white  stone  flowers. 

Cloud  and  Rain  gave  her  a  warm  wrap- 
per and  seated  her  on  a  heap  of  ermine 
skins  in  a  far  corner  of  the  lodge  where 
the  dampness  was  shut  out  by  a  magic 
fire.  This  is  the  fire  that  runs  beneath 
the  Falls,  and  throws  its  yellow-and-green 
flames  across  the  water,  forming  the  rain- 
bow. 

He  brought  her  dainty  fish  to  eat  and 
delicate  jelly  made  from  mosses  which 
only  the  water  spirits  can  find  or  prepare. 

When  she  was  rested  he  told  her  that 
he  knew  her  story,  and  if  she  would  stay 
with  him  he  would  keep  her  until  her 
ugly  old  suitor  was  dead.  "  A  great  ser- 
pent," added  he,  '4ies  beneath  the  vil- 
lage, and  is  even  now  poisoning  the  spring 
from  which  No  Heart  draws  all  the  water 
that  he  uses,  and  he  will  soon  die." 

Bending  Willow  was  grateful,  and  said 
that  she  would  gladly  remain  all  her  life 
in  such  a  beautiful  home  and  with  such  a 
kind  spirit. 

Cloud  and  Rain  smiled ;  but  he  knew 
the  heart  of  a  young  girl  would  turn 
towards  her  own  home  when  it  was  safe 


\--%SaC 


f 


-^.; 


Amekican  Indian  Tales 


for  lier  to  return.  He  needed  no  better 
proof  of  this  than  the  questions  she  asked 
about  the  serpent  which  caused  so  much 
sickness  among  her  people. 

He  told  her  that  this  serpent  had  lain 
there  many  years.  When  he  once  tasted 
human  blood  he  could  never  be  satisfied. 
He  crept  beneath  a  village  and  cast  a  black 
poison  into  the  springs  from  which  people 
drew  water.  When  any  one  died  the 
serpent  stole  out  at  night  and  drank  his 
blood.  That  made  him  ravenous  for  more. 
So  when  one  death  occurred  more  followed 
until  the  serpent  was  gorged  and  went  to 
sleep  for  a  time. 

' '  When  you  return, ' '  said  Cloud  and 
Rain,  '^  persuade  your  people  to  move 
their  camp.  Let  them  come  near  me,  and 
should  the  serpent  dare  to  follow  I  will 
defend  them." 

Bending  Willow  stayed  four  months 
with  Cloud  and  Rain,  and  he  taught  her 
much  magic,  and  showed  her  the  herbs 
which  would  cure  sickness. 

One  day  when  he  came  in  from  fishing 
he  said  to  her :  ''  No  Heart  is  dead.  This 
night  I  will  throw  a  bridge  from  the  foot  of 
the  waters  across  the  Falls  to  the  high  hills. 
You  must  climb  it  without  fear,  for  I  will 
hold  it  firmly  until  you  are  on  the  land. 


>) 


^ 


38^^-0" 


^atfrf\ 


%- 


.?^*/j 


f>t<^ 


The  Bended  Rocks 


61 


When  tlie  moon  rose  and  lighted  all  the 
river,  Cloud  and  Rain  caused  a  gentle  wind 
to  raise  the  spray  until  it  formed  a  great, 
white  arch  reaching  from  his  cave  to  the 
distant  hills.  He  led  Bending  Willow  to 
the  foot  of  this  bridge  of  mist  and  helped 
her  to  climb  until  she  was  assured  of  her 
safety  and  could  step  steadily. 

All  the  tribe  welcomed  her,  and  none 
were  sorry  that  she  had  not  married  No 
Heart.  She  told  them  of  the  good  spirit, 
Cloud  and  Rain,  of  his  wonderful  lodge, 
of  his  kindness,  and  of  the  many  things 
he  had  taught  her. 

At  first  they  would  not  entertain  the 
idea  of  moving  their  village,  for  there 
were  pleasant  fishing-grounds  where  they 
lived,  and  by  the  Falls  none  but  spirits 
could  catch  the  fish.  But  when  strong 
men  sickened  and  some  of  the  children  of 
the  Chief  died,  they  took  down  their 
lodge  poles  and  sought  the  protection  of 
the  good  spirit. 

For  a  long  time  they  lived  in  peace  and 
health ;  but  after  many  moons  the  serpent 
discovered  their  new  camp  and  made  his 
way  thither. 

Cloud  and  Hain  was  soon  aware  of  his 
arrival,  and  was  very  angry  because  the 
serpent  dared  to  come  so  near  his  lodge. 


9V 


62 


American  Indian  Tales 


'j'^^ 


He  took  a  handful  of  the  magic  fire  and 
molded  it  into  thunderbolts  which  he 
hurled  at  the  monster.  The  first  stunned 
him,  the  second  wounded  him  severely, 
and  the  third  killed  him. 

Cloud  and  Eain  told  them  to  drag  the 
body  to  the  rapids  and  hurl  it  into  the 
water.  It  took  all  the  women  of  the  tribe 
to  move  it,  for  it  was  longer  than  the 
flight  of  twenty  arrows.  As  it  tossed  upon 
the  water,  it  looked  as  though  a  mountain 
had  fallen  upon  the  waves,  and  it  drifted 
but  slowly  to  the  edge  of  the  Great  Fall. 
There  it  was  drawn  between  the  rocks  and 
became  wedged  so  firmly  that  it  could 
not  be  dislodged,  but  coiled  itself  as  if 
it  had  lain  down  to  sleep.  Its  weight  was 
so  great  that  it  bent  the  rocks,  and  they 
remain  curved  like  a  drawn  bow  to  this 
day.  The  serpent  itself  was  gradually 
washed  to  pieces  and  disappeared. 

In  the  Moon  of  Flowers  the  young  war- 
rior whom  Bending  Willow  loved  came 
and  cast  a  red  deer  at  her  feet,  and  they 
were  happy  ever  after. 


t 


f&^^ 


^Ji 


•1 


WHITE  HAWK  THE  LAZY. 


*!9Sv 


'1^* 


WHITE  HAWK,  THE  LAZY. 


HITE  HAWK  was 
known  as  the  laziest 
boy  in  the  tribe. 
When  his  father  set 
his  nets,  even  on  the 
coldest  days  in  winter, 
he  had  to  do  it  alone; 
for  White  Hawk  would 
never  help  him  either  to  carry  the  net 
or  to  cut  the  ice.  He  neither  hunted  nor 
fished,  he  took  no  part  in  the  games 
of  the  young  men,  and  he  refused  to 
wait  upon  his  parents,  until  his  name 
became  a  reproach. 

His  father  and  mother  were  deeply 
grieved  by  his  conduct,  for  they  them- 
selves were  industrious  and  frugal.  They 
did  not,  like  many  of  their  tribe,  return 
from  the  wintering  grounds  to  feast  and 
be  idle ;  but  built  themselves  a  lodge  in 
the  forest,  where  they  laid  store  for  the 
future.  At  last  they  determined  to  try 
to  shame  White  Hawk  out  of  his  lazi- 
ness. So  one  night  when  he  had  refused 
to  go  to  fetch  water  for  them,  the  father 
said :  ''  Ah,  my  son,  one  who  is  afraid  to 


rh-. 


m 


American  Indian  Tales 


go  to  the  river  after  dark  will  never  kill 
tke  Red  Head." 

Now,  it  was  the  ambition  of  every  In- 
dian boy  to  kill  the  Red  Head.  Though 
his  parents  did  not  know  it,  White  Hawk 
had  always  believed  that  he  would  accom- 
plish it,  and  he  often  sat  and  thought  of 
different  ways  in  which  it  might  be  done, 
for  he  was  strong,  despite  his  laziness. 

He  made  no  answer,  but  went  at  once 
to  bed.  The  next  morning  he  asked  his 
mother  to  make  him  some  new  moccasins 
of  deer  skin  while  he  cut  some  arrows. 
He  made  only  four,  which  he  put  into  a 
shabby  quiver  and  laid  beside  his  moccasins 
ready  to  take  with  him  in  the  morning. 

He  rose  before  daylight,  and  without 
waking  either  his  father  or  his  mother 
put  on  his  moccasins,  took  his  bow  and 
quiver  and  set  out,  determined  to  kill 
the  Red  Head  before  he  returned.  He 
did  not  know  which  way  to  go,  so  as  soon 
as  it  was  light  he  shot  an  arrow  into  the 
air  and  followed  the  direction  of  its  flight. 

He  traveled  all  day.  Towards  night  he 
was  tired  and  hungry,  for  he  had  brought 
no  food  with  him  and  had  found  but  a  few 
acorns  in  the  forest.  To  his  surprise  he 
saw  a  fat  deer  with  an  arrow  in  its  side 
lying  across  his  path. 


White  Hawk,  The  Lazy         67 

It  was    tlie    arrow  he  had  shot   that 
J  morning.     He  did  not  pull  it  out,  but  cut 

(^^      off  as  much  meat  as  he  wanted  to  eat  and 
left  the  rest  for  the  coyotes. 

He  slept  in  a  hollow  tree  all  night. 
Early  the  next  morning  he  shot  another 
arrow  into  the  air  to  find  out  in  what 
direction  to  go  that  day,  and  at  night  he 
found  another  deer  that  had  been  pierced 
by  this  arrow. 
.  Thus  it  happened  every  day  for  four 

:/|j  days ;  but  as  he  had  not  withdrawn  any 

of  the  arrows,  on  the  fifth  day  he  had 
none  to  use  and  so  was  without  food.  He 
was  very  hungry,  for  he  had  long  since 
left  the  woods  and  there  were  no  nuts  or 
'U  berries  on  the  prairie. 

^"  He  lay  down,  thinking  he  might  as  well 

' '  die  there  as  elsewhere,  for  he  was  suffer- 

ing great  pain  from  hunger.     It  was  not 
fcif         long  before   he    heard    a    hollow,  rum- 
Si  bling    sound  that  seemed    to  be  under 
'-'^  ground. 
I  He  stood  up  and  looking  around,  saw 
O          a  broad,  beaten  path  leading  across   the 
^f        prairie.  An  old  woman  was  walking  along 
J           this  path,  thumping  the  ground  with  a 
Vf          stick  at  every  step. 

^  He  went  nearer  and  was  terribly  fright- 

ened, for  he  discovered  that  she  was  a 


«f 


American  Indiai^  Tales 


witch,  known  througliout  the  country  as 
' '  the  little  old  woman  who  makes  war. ' ' 

She  wore  a  mantle  made  entirely  of 
women's  scalps.  Her  staff,  which  was  a 
stont,  hickory  stick,  was  ornamented  with 
a  string  of  toes  and  bills  of  birds  of  all 
kinds.  At  every  stroke  of  the  staff  they 
fluttered  and  sang,  each  in  its  own  fash- 
ion, and  the  discord  was  horrible. 

White  Hawk  followed  her,  creeping 
along  in  the  high  grass  so  as  to  hide  him- 
self, until  he  saw  her  lodge,  which  was  on 
the  shore  of  the  lake.  She  entered,  took 
off  her  mantle  and  shook  it  several  times. 
At  every  shake  the  scalps  uttered  loud 
shrieks  of  laughter,  in  which  the  old  witch 
joined. 

Presently  she  came  out,  and  without 
seeming  to  look,  walked  directly  up  to 
White  Hawk.  She  told  him  that  she  knew 
all  about  his  determination  to  kill  the 
Red  Head,  and  that  she  would  help  him. 
' '  Many  young  men  have  tliouglit  about 
killing  him,"  she  said,  ''  but  you  are  the 
only  one  who  has  set  out  to  do  it." 

She  insisted  upon  his  going  to  her 
lodge  to  spend  the  night,  and  he  went, 
although  he  knew  that  he  would  not  be 
able  to  sleep  in  such  a  place. 

She  told  him  to  lie  down,  and  taking 


.f>.  « 


8*Hil 


^1-^^  I 


4^ 


White  Hawk,  The  Lazy 


69 


out  a  comb,  began  to  comb  his  hair, 
which  in  a  few  moments  became  long  and 
glossy,  like  a  woman's.  She  tied  it 
with  a  magic  hairstring,  and  gave  him  a 
woman's  dress  of  fine,  soft  skin,  a  neck- 
lace, and  brooches  of  silver,  and  many 
strings  of  wampum.  Then  she  painted 
his  face  red  and  yellow,  not  forgetting  to 
put  on  some  love-powder.  Last  of  all  she 
brought  a  silver  bowl  for  him  and  slixDped 
a  blade  of  scented  sword-grass  into  his 
girdle. 

She  told  him  that  the  Ked  Head  lived 
on  an  island  in  the  center  of  the  lake  on 
the  shore  of  which  her  lodge  was  built. 

On  the  morrow  White  Hawk  should  go 
down  to  the  water  and  begin  dipping  the 
silver  bowl  into  the  lake  and  drinking 
from  it.  The  Indians  who  were  with  the 
Red  Head  would  see  him,  and,  supposing 
him  to  be  a  woman,  would  come  over  in 
their  canoes,  and  each  would  wish  to 
make  her  his  wife. 

He  was  to  say,  ^'  No,  I  will  only  marry 
the  Red  Head,  and  he  must  bring  his  own 
canoe  for  me,  for  I  have  traveled  a  long 
way  in  order  to  be  his  wife." 

When  the  Red  Head  should  receive  the 
news  he  would  cross  in  his  canoe  and  take 
White  Hawk  to  the  island.     The  witch 


\r 


^i 


<Si 


^J^«-^^^^ 


70 


AMERicAisr  Indian  Tales 


loaded  him  with  presents  to  give  in  the 
event  of  a  marriage,  in  which  case  he  was 
to  be  on  the  watch  for  an  opportunity  to 
kill  the  Red  Head  by  cutting  off  his  head 
with  the  spear  of  scented  sword-grass. 

White  Hawk  rose  next  morning,  put 
on  the  woman's  garments  that  had  been 
given  him,  went  down  to  the  lake  and  be- 
gan dipping  water  with  the  silver  bowl. 

Presently  many  canoes  were  put  out 
from  the  island.  They  were  driven 
swiftly  to  the  spot  where  he  stood,  and  the 
men  strove  with  one  another  in  offers  of 
marriage. 

White  Hawk  acted  as  the  witch  told 
him  a  woman  would  under  the  circum- 
stances. To  all  their  entreaties  he  replied  : 
' '  I  have  come  a  great  way  to  see  the  Red 
Head,  whom  I  am  resolved  to  marry.  If 
he  wants  me  let  him  come  in  his  own 
canoe  to  take  me  to  his  wigwam." 

The  message  was  taken  to  the  Red 
Head,  who  immediately  crossed  the  lake 
in  his  canoe.  As  it  neared  the  shore 
White  Hawk  saw  that  its  framework  was 
of  live  rattlesnakes,  who  thrust  out  their 
heads  and  hissed  and  rattled  as  he 
stepped  into  the  boat.  The  Red  Head 
spoke  to  them  and  they  quieted  down,  as 
dogs  at  the  word  of  their  master. 


.■••■iV 


;i^f^,, 


i 


White  Hawk,  The  Lazy         71 

When  tliey  landed  tlie  Red  Head  went 
straight  to  his  wigwam  and  the  marriage 
was  performed.  Then  a  feast  was  spread, 
the  presents  were  given  and  White  Hawk 
waited  his  opportunity. 

By  and  by  Red  Head's  mother,  who  had 
been  watching  the  bride  closely,  said  to 
her  husband,  '^  That  is  no  woman  our  son 
has  married ;  no  woman  ever  looked  out 
of  her  eyes  like  that. ' ' 

Her  husband  was  very  angry;  and 
White  Hawk,  who  had  overheard  the  con- 
versation, jumped  up  and  said  :  '^  I  have 
been  insulted,  and  by  my  husband's  peo- 
ple. I  cannot  live  here.  I  will  return  at 
once  to  my  nation,"  and  he  ran  out  of  the 
wigwam,  followed  by  the  guests  and  by 
the  Red  Head,  who  motioned  to  them  to 
leave  him. 

White  Hawk  went  down  to  the  shore 
and  made  pretense  of  getting  into  a  canoe, 
when  the  Red  Head  laid  a  hand  upon  him 
and  sorrowfully  begged  him  to  wait  at 
least  a  little  time.  He  turned  back  and 
sat  down,  when  the  Red  Head  threw  him- 
self at  his  wife's  feet  and  put  his  head 
into  her  lap. 

White  Hawk  lost  not  a  moment  in  draw- 
ing out  the  blade  of  sword-grass  and  cut- 
ting off  his  head  at  a  single  stroke.     He 


<vj.>-' ""  Jcjasa*''!^ 


72 


-Li'--  Vv! 


\i 


American  Indian  Tales 


then  plunged  into  the  water  and  swam 
across  the  lake  with  the  head  in  his  hand. 

He  had  scarcely  reached  the  shore  when 
he  saw  the  Ked  Head's  followers  come 
down  with  torches  in  search  of  him  and 
his  wife.  He  heard  their  shrieks  when 
they  found  the  headless  body,  and  so  lost 
no  time  in  making  his  way  to  the  witch's 
lodge,  whither  they  would  not  be  likely 
to  follow  him. 

The  witch  received  him  with  great  Joy. 
She  told  him  that  he  must  give  her  a  little 
piece  of  the  scalp  for  herself,  but  he  might 
take  the  rest  home. 

He  was  anxious  to  return,  so  she  gave 
him  a  partridge  to  offer  the  spirit  of  the 
earth,  in  case  he  should  meet  him  on  the 
way. 

As  White  Hawk  crossed  the  prairie,  h6 
heard  a  great  rumbling  and  crackling 
sound,  and  the  earth  split  and  opened  in 
front  of  him.  He  threw  the  partridge 
into  the  crack  and  it  was  closed  imme- 
diately, so  that  he  passed  over  it  in 
safety. 

On  reaching  home  he  found  that  his 
parents  had  fasted  and  mourned  for  him 
as  dead,  for  he  had  been  gone  a  year. 
Many  young  men  had  come  to  them  and 
had  said,  ' '  See,  I  am  your  son, ' '  until 


«*»!.» 


^ib'*^- 


White  Hawk,  The  Lazy 


when  Wliite  Hawk  did  return  they  would 
not  even  look  at  him. 

He  threw  himself  at  their  feet  and  told 
them  that  he  had  killed  the  Red  Head. 
They  paid  no  attention  to  him,  and  the 
young  men  of  the  tribe  to  whom  he  re- 
peated the  story  laughed  in  his  face. 

He  went  outside  the  camp  and  brought 
back  the  head.  Then  indeed  his  parents 
rejoiced,  for  they  knew  that  he  would 
be  admitted  at  once  to  the  company  of 
warriors  for  having  rid  them  of  so  great 
an  enemy.  While  they  all  wondered 
how  one  who  was  so  lazy  could  have  be- 
come so  great  a  brave,  he  told  them  why 
he  had  acted  as  he  did  before  he  left  the 
village.  He  was  so  strong  that  he  had 
been  afraid  of  breaking  things,  and  so 
did  not  dare  to  touch  them.  He  took 
hold  of  some  fishiug-nets,  and  as  he  turned 
them  over  in  his  fingers,  they  snapped  in 
many  places.  But  now  that  he  was  a 
man  his  strength  would  be  useful  to  him 
and  to  the  tribe.  He  could  clear  the  for- 
est of  fallen  trees,  and  carry  some  to  the 
streams,  where  he  could  throw  them  so 
that  his  people  might  go  from  one  side 
to  the  other  in  safety.  Thereafter  he 
was  not  known  as  White  Hawk  the  Lazy, 
but  as  ''The  Strong  Man. 


?> 


CVL 


r- 


?^' 


:i 


y^ 


.-r\ 


Vi 


VI 


THE  MAGIC  FEATHER. 


/S^- 


T'P 


^     %k^ 


«9  f  ■!;- 


«55ili, 


^^^^ 


.^./ 


THE  MAGIC  FEATHER. 

N  tlie  depths  of  the  forest 
in  the  land  of  the  Daco- 
tahs  stood  a  wigwam 
many  leagues  distant 
from  any  other.  The 
old  man  who  had  been 
known  to  live  in  it  was 
supposed  to  have  died; 
but  he  kept  himself  in  hiding  for  the 
sake  of  his  little  grandson,  whose  mother 
had  brought  him  there  to  escape  the 
giants. 

The  Dacotahs  had  once  been  a  brave 
and  mighty  people.  They  were  swift 
runners  and  proud  of  their  fleetness.  It 
had  been  told  among  the  nations  for 
many  generations  that  a  great  chief 
should  spring  from  this  tribe,  and  that 
he  should  conquer  all  his  enemies,  even 
the  giants  who  had  made  themselves 
strong  by  eating  the  flesh  of  those  they 
took  in  battle  and  drinking  their  blood. 
This  great  chief  should  wear  a  white 
feather  and  should  be  known  by  its 
name. 

The    giants    believed    the    story    and 


# 


78 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


ij^i^ 


souglit  to  prevent  it  coming  true.  So 
they  said  to  the  Dacotahs :  ' '  Let  us  run 
a  race.  If  you  win  you  shall  have  our 
sons  and  our  daughters  to  do  with  them 
as  you  please,  and  if  we  win  we  will  take 
yours.'' 

Some  of  the  wise  Indians  shook  their 
heads  and  said :  ' '  Suppose  the  giants 
win ;  they  will  kill  our  children  and  will 
serve  them  as  dainty  food  upon  their 
tables."  But  the  young  men  answered: 
''Kaw:  who  can  outrun  the  Dacotahs? 
We  shall  return  from  the  race  with  the 
young  giants  bound  hand  and  foot,  to 
fetch  and  carry  for  us  all  our  days. ' '  So 
they  agreed  to  the  wager  and  ran  with 
the  giants. 

Now,  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  giants  would  act  fairly.  They  dug 
pitfalls  on  the  prairie,  covering  them 
with  leaves  and  grass,  which  caused  the 
runners  to  stumble,  and  lose  the  race. 

The  Dacotahs,  therefore,  had  to  bring 
out  their  children  and  give  them  to  the 
giants.  When  they  were  counted  one 
child  was  missing.  The  giants  roared 
with  anger  and  made  the  whole  tribe 
search  for  him,  but  he  could  not  be 
found.  Then  the  giants  killed  the  father 
instead  and  ate  his  flesh,  grumbling  and 


'^t^  ■■    \v      i^ 


^> 


The  Magic  Feather 


79 


muttering  vengeance  with  every  mouth- 
ful. 

This  was  the  child  whose  home  was  in 
the  forest.  When  he  was  still  a  very 
little  fellow  his  grandfather  made  him  a 
tiny  bow  and  some  smooth,  light  arrows, 
and  taught  him  how  to  use  them. 

The  first  time  he  ventured  from  the 
lodge  he  brought  home  a  rabbit,  the  sec- 
ond time  a  squirrel,  and  he  shot  a  fine, 
large  deer  long  before  he  was  strong 
enough  to  drag  it  home. 

One  day  when  he  was  about  fourteen 
years  old,  he  heard  a  voice  calling  to  him 
as  he  went  through  the  thick  woods: 
*'Come  hither,  you  wearer  of  the  white 
feather.  You  do  not  yet  wear  it,  but  you 
are  worthy  of  it. " 

He  looked  about,  but  at  first  saw  no 
one.  At  last  he  caught  sight  of  the  head 
of  a  little  old  man  among  the  trees.  On 
going  up  to  it  he  discovered  that  the 
body  from  the  heart  downwards  was 
wood  and  fast  in  the  earth.  He  thought 
some  hunter  must  have  leaped  upon  a  rot- 
ten stump  and,  it  giving  way,  had  caught 
and  held  him  fast ;  but  he  soon  recognized 
the  roots  of  an  old  oak  that  he  well 
knew.  Its  top  had  been  blighted  by  a 
stroke  of  lightning,  and  the  lower  branches 


/f^' 


-At*^ 


^iSi^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


were  so  dark  that  no  birds  built  their  nests 
on  them,  and  few  even  lighted  upon 
them. 

The  boy  knew  nothing  of  the  world  ex- 
cept what  his  grandfather  had  taught 
him.  He  had  once  found  some  lodge 
poles  on  the  edge  of  the  forest  and  a 
heap  of  ashes  like  those  about  their  own 
wigwam,  by  which  he  guessed  that  there 
were  other  people  living.  He  had  never 
been  told  why  he  was  living  with  an  old 
man  so  far  away  from  others,  or  of  his 
father,  but  the  time  had  come  for  him  to 
know  these  things. 

The  head  which  had  called  him,  said 
as  he  came  near:  ''Go  home.  White 
Feather,  and  lie  down  to  sleep.  You  will 
dream,  and  on  waking  will  find  a  pipe,  a 
pouch  of  smoking  mixture,  and  a  long 
white  feather  beside  you.  Put  the 
feather  on  your  head,  and  as  you  smoke 
you  will  see  the  cloud  which  rises  from 
your  pipe  pass  out  of  the  doorway  as  a 
flock  of  pigeons. '^  The  voice  then  told 
him  who  he  was,  and  also  that  the  giants 
had  never  given  up  looking  for  him.  He 
was  to  wait  for  them  no  longer,  but  to  go 
boldly  to  their  lodge  and  offer  to  race 
with  them.  ''Here,"  said  the  voice,  " is 
an    enchanted  vine  which    you    are   to 


« 

a 
% 


\I 


t/"V 


The  Magic  Feather 


throw  over  the  head  of  every  one  who 
runs  with  you." 

White  Feather,  as  he  was  thenceforth 
called,  picked  up  the  vine,  went  quickly 
home  and  did  as  he  had  been  told.  He 
heard  the  voice,  awoke  and  found  the 
pouch  of  tobacco,  the  pipe,  and  the  white 
feather.  Placing  the  feather  on  his  head, 
he  filled  the  pipe  and  sat  down  to 
smoke. 

His  grandfather,  who  was  at  work  not 
far  from  the  wigwam,  was  astonished  to 
see  flocks  of  pigeons  flying  over  his  head, 
and  still  more  surprised  to  find  that  they 
came  from  his  own  doorway.  When  he 
went  in  and  saw  the  boy  wearing  the 
white  feather,  he  knew  what  it  all  meant 
and  became  very  sad,  for  he  loved  the  boy 
so  much  that  he  could  not  bear  the  thought 
of  losing  him. 

The  next  morning  White  Feather  went 
in  search  of  the  giants .  He  passed  through 
the  forest,  out  upon  the  prairie  and 
through  other  woods  across  another 
prairie,  until  at  last  he  saw  a  tall  lodge 
pole  in  the  middle  of  the  forest.  He 
went  boldly  up  to  it,  thinking  to  surprise 
the  giants,  but  his  coming  was  not  unex- 
pected, for  the  little  spirits  which  carry 
the  news  had  heard  the  voice  speaking  to 


>-•        ^'VS^'^'^'— f«!lXf1«v»- 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


Mm  and  had  hastened  to  tell  those  whom 
it  most  concerned. 

The  giants  were  six  brothers  who  lived 
in  a  lodge  that  was  ill-kept  and  dirty. 
When  they  saw  the  boy  coming  they 
made  fun  of  him  among  themselves ;  but 
when  he  entered  the  lodge  they  pretended 
that  they  were  glad  to  see  him  and  flat- 
tered him,  telling  him  that  his  fame  as  a 
brave  had  already  reached  them. 

White  Feather  knew  well  what  they 
wanted.  He  proposed  the  race;  and 
though  this  was  Just  what  they  had  in- 
tended doing,  they  laughed  at  his  offer. 
At  last  they  said  that  if  he  would  have  it 
so,  he  should  try  first  with  the  smallest 
and  weakest  of  their  number. 

They  were  to  run  towards  the  east  until 
they  came  to  a  certain  tree  which  had 
been  stripped  of  its  bark,  and  then  back 
to  the  starting  point,  where  a  war- club 
made  of  iron  was  driven  into  the  ground. 
Whoever  reached  this  first  was  to  beat 
the  other's  brains  out  with  it. 

White  Feather  and  the  youngest  giant 
ran  nimbly  on,  and  the  giants,  who  were 
watching,  were  rejoiced  to  see  their 
brother  gain  slowly  but  surely,  and  at 
last  shoot  ahead  of  White  Feather. 
When  his  enemy  was  almost  at  the  goal, 


%^ 


The  Magic  Feather 


83 


the  boy,  wlio  was  only  a  few  feet  behind, 
threw  the  enchanted  vine  over  the  giant's 
head,  which  caused  him  to  fall  back  help- 
less. No  one  suspected  anything  more 
than  an  accident,  for  the  vine  could  not 
be  seen  except  by  him  who  carried  it. 

After  White  Feather  had  cut  ojff  the 
giant's  head,  the  brothers  thought  to  get 
the  better  of  him,  and  begged  him  to 
leave  the  head  with  them,  for  they 
thought  that  by  magic  they  might  bring 
it  back  to  life,  but  he  claimed  his  right 
to  take  it  home  to  his  grandfather. 

The  next  morning  he  returned  to  run 
with  the  second  giant,  whom  he  defeated 
in  the  same  manner;  the  third  morning 
the  third,  and  so  on  until  all  but  one  were 
killed. 

As  he  went  towards  the  giant's  lodge 
on  the  sixth  morning  he  heard  the  voice 
of  the  old  man  of  the  oak  tree  who  had 
first  appeared  to  him.  It  came  to  warn 
him.  It  told  him  that  the  sixth  giant  was 
afraid  to  race  with  him,  and  would  there- 
fore try  to  deceive  him  and  work  en- 
chantment on  him.  As  he  went  through 
the  wood  he  would  ^  meet  a  beautiful 
woman,  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 
To  avoid  danger  he  must  wish  himself  an 
elk  and  he  would  be  changed  into  that 


i 


feski*. 


■^ 


^^ 


American  Indian  Tales 

animal.  Even  then  he  must  keep  out  of 
her  way,  for  she  meant  to  do  him  harm. 
^^  White  Feather  had  not  gone  far  from 
the  tree  when  he  met  her.  He  had  never 
seen  a  woman  before,  and  this  one  was  so 
beautiful  that  he  wished  himself  an  elk 
at  once;  for  he  was  sure  she  would  be- 
witch him.  He  could  not  tear  himself 
away  from  the  spot,  however,  but  kept 
browsing  near  her,  raising  his  eyes  now 
and  then  to  look  at  her. 

She  went  to  him,  laid  her  hand  upon 
his  neck  and  stroked  his  sides.  Looking 
from  him  she  sighed,  and  as  he  turned 
his  head  towards  her,  she  reproached  him 
for  changing  himself  from  a  tall  and 
handsome  man  to  such  an  ugly  creature. 
''For,"  said  she,  "I  heard  of  you  in  a 
distant  land,  and,  though  many  sought 
me,  I  came  hither  to  be  your  wife." 

As  White  Feather  looked  at  her  he 
saw  tears  shining  in  her  eyes,  and  almost 
before  he  knew  it  he  wished  himself  a 
man  again.  In  a  moment  he  was  re- 
stored to  his  natural  shape,  and  the 
woman  flung  her  arms  about  his  neck 
and  kissed  him. 

By  and  by  she  coaxed  him  to  lie  down 
on  the  ground  and  put  his  head  on  her 
lap.      ^ow,   this  beautiful  woman  was 


The  Magic  Feather 


85 


really   the 


giant 


in    dis2:uise:    and    as 


White  Feather  lay  with  his  head  on  her 
knee,  she  stroked  his  hair  and  forehead, 
and  by  her  magic  put  him  to  sleep.  Then 
she  took  an  ax  and  broke  his  back. 
This  done,  she  changed  herself  into  the 
giant,  turned  White  Feather  into  a  dog, 
and  bade  him  follow  to  the  lodge. 

The  giant  took  the  white  feather  and 
placed  it  on  his  own  head,  for  he  knew 
there  was  magic  in  it ;  and  he  wished  to 
make  the  tribes  honor  him  as  the  great 
warrior  they  had  long  expected. 


;s» 


I."/  ^ 


e.'ii 


1^    :*/yi 


^         r> 


f^y^' 


L*s?L 


1 

1 

•^ 

II. 

N  a  little  village  but  a 
woman's  journey  from 
the  home  of  the  giants 
lived  a  chief  named 
Red  Wing.  He  had 
two  daughters,  White 
Weasel  and  Crystal 
Stone,  each  noted  for  her  beauty  and 
haughtiness,  though  Crystal  Stone  was 
kind  to  every  one  but  her  lovers,  who 
came  from  far  and  near,  and  were  a  con- 
stant source  of  jealousy  to  White  Weasel, 
the  elder.  The  eldest  of  the  giants  was 
White  Weasel's  suitor,  but  she  was  afraid 
of  him,  so  both  the  sisters  remained  un- 
married. 

When  the  news  of  White  Feather's  race 
with  the  giants  came  to  the  village,  each 
of  the  maidens  determined  that  she  would 
win  the  young  brave  for  a  husband.  White 
Weasel  wanted  some  one  who  would  be  a 
great  chief  and  make  all  the  tribes  afraid 
of  him.  Crystal  Stone  loved  him  before- 
hand, for  she  knew  he  must  be  good  as 
well  as  brave,  else  the  white  feather 
would  not  have  been  given  to  him.  Each 
kept  the  wish  to  herself  and  went  into  the 
woods  to  fast,  that  it  might  come  true. 


y 


■V^-- 


;j^*-\'juii'^<ei„ 


The  Magic  Feather 


87 


VVlien  they  lieard  that  White  Feather 
was  on  his  way  through  the  forest,  White 
Weasel  set  her  lodge  in  order  and  dressed 
herself  gaily,  hoping  thereby  to  attract 
his  attention.  Her  sister  made  no  such 
preparation,  for  she  thought  so  brave  and 
wise  a  chief  would  have  too  good  sense  to 
take  notice  of  a  woman's  finery. 

When  the  giant  passed  through  the  for- 
est. White  Weasel  went  out  and  invited 
him  into  her  lodge.  He  entered  and  she 
did  not  guess  that  it  was  the  giant  of  whom 
she  had  been  in  such  fear. 

Crystal  Stone  invited  the  dog  into  her 
lodge — her  sister  had  shut  him  out — and 
was  kind  to  it,  as  she  had  always  been 
to  dumb  creatures.  Now,  although  the 
dog  was  enchanted  and  could  not  change 
his  condition,  he  still  had  more  than  hu- 
man sense  and  knew  all  the  thoughts  of 
his  mistress.  He  grew  to  love  her  more 
and  more  every  day  and  looked  about  for 
some  way  to  show  it. 

One  day  when  the  giant  was  hunting 
on  the  prairie,  the  dog  went  out  to 
hunt  also ;  but  he  ran  down  to  the  bank 
of  the  river.  He  stepped  cautiously  into 
the  water  and  drew  out  a  large  stone, 
which  was  turned  into  a  beaver  as  soon  as 
it  touched  the  ground.     He  took  it  home 


i'&i 


88  American  Indian  Tales  I 

/ 

to  his  mistress,  wlio  showed  it  to  her  sister 
and  offered  to  share  it  with  her.  White 
Weasel  refused  it,  but  told  her  husband 
he  had  better  follow  the  dog  and  discover 
where  such  fine  beavers  could  be  had. 

The  giant  went,  and  hiding  behind  a 
tree,  saw  the  dog  draw  out  a  stone,  which  *0' 

turned  into  a  beaver.     After  the  animal  ^^': 

had  gone  home  he  went  down  to  the  water 
and  drew    out    a  stone,  which    likewise  / 

turned  into  a  beaver.  He  tied  it  to  his 
belt  and  took  it  home,  throwing  it  down 
at  the  door  of  the  lodge. 

When  he  had  been  at  home  a  little  while, 
he  told  his  wife  to  go  and  bring  in  his  belt. 
She  did  so,  but  there  was  no  beaver  tied 
to  it,  only  a  large,  smooth  stone  such  as 
he  had  drawn  out  of  the  water.  'j{ 

The  dog,  knowing  that  he  had  been 
watched,  would  not  go  for  more  beavers ; 
but  the  next  day  went  through  the  woods 
until  he  came  to  a  charred  tree.  He  broke  /if  if 
off  a  small  branch,  which  turned  into  a 
bear  as  soon  as  he  took  hold  of  it  to  carry 
it  home.  The  giant,  who  had  been  watch- 
ing him,  also  broke  off  a  branch,  and  he, 
too,  secured  a  bear ;  but  when  he  took  it 
home  and  told  his  wife  to  fetch  it  in,  she 
found  only  a  black  stick. 

Then  White  Weasel  became  very  an- 


:V 


5^ 


The  Magic  Feather 


tJ^'^ 


rvfNK. 


gry  and  scoffed  at  her  husband,  asking 
him  if  this  was  the  way  he  had  done  the 
wonderful  things  that  had  made  his  fame. 
'*Ugh!"  she  said,  '^you  are  a  coward, 
though  you  are  so  big  and  great. ' ' 

The  next  day,  after  the  giant  had  gone 
out,  she  went  to  the  village  to  tell  her 
father,  Red  Wing,  how  badly  her  hus- 
band treated  her  in  not  bringing  home 
food.  She  also  told  him  that  her  sister, 
who  had  taken  the  dog  into  her  wigwam, 
always  had  plenty  to  eat,  and  that  Crys- 
tal Stone  pitied  the  wife  of  the  wearer  of 
the  white  feather,  who  often  had  to  go 
hungry. 

Red  Wing  listened  to  her  story  and 
knew  at  once  that  there  must  be  magic 
at  work  somewhere.  He  sent  a  company 
of  young  men  and  women  to  the  lodge  of 
Crystal  Stone  to  see  if  White  Weasel's 
story  were  true,  and  if  so  to  bring  his 
younger  daughter  and  the  dog  to  his 
wigwam. 

Meanwhile  the  dog  had  asked  his  mis- 
tress to  give  him  a  bath  such  as  the 
Indians  take.  They  went  down  to  the 
river,  where  he  pointed  out  a  spot  on 
which  she  was  to  build  him  a  lodge.  She 
made  it  of  grass  and  sticks,  and  after 
heating  some  large  stones  laid  them  on 


VQ 


~^V'%" 


90 


Amekican  Indian  Tales 


the  floor,  leaving  only  Just  enough  room 
for  the  dog  to  crawl  in  and  lie  down. 
Then  she  poured  water  on  the  stones, 
which  caused  a  thick  steam  that  almost 
choked  him.  He  lay  in  it  for  a  long 
time,  after  which,  raising  himself,  he 
rushed  out  and  jumped  into  a  pool  of 
water  formed  by  the  river.  He  came  out 
a  tall,  handsome  man,  but  without  the 
power  of  speech. 

The  messengers  from  Ked  Wing  were 
greatly  astonished  at  finding  a  man  in- 
stead of  the  dog  that  they  had  expected 
to  see,  but  had  no  trouble  in  persuading 
him  and  Crystal  Stone  to  go  with  them. 

Red  Wing  was  as  much  astonished  as 
his  messengers  had  been,  and  called  all 
the  wise  men  of  the  tribe  to  witness  what 
should  take  place,  and  to  give  counsel 
concerning  his  daughters. 

The  whole  tribe  and  many  strangers 
soon  assembled.  The  giant  came  also 
and  brought  with  him  the  magic  pipe 
that  had  been  given  to  White  Feather  in 
his  dream.  He  smoked  it  and  passed  it 
to  the  Indians  to  smoke,  but  nothing 
came  of  it.  Then  White  Feather  mo- 
tioned to  them  that  he  wished  to  take  it. 
He  also  asked  for  the  white  feather, 
which  he  placed  on  his  head;  when,  at 


S:, 


"  Lo !  Clouds  of  blue  and  white  pigeons  rushed  from  the 

smoke" 


The  Magic  Feather 


the  first  wliiff  from  the  pipe,  lo !  clouds 
of  blue  and  white  pigeons  rushed  from 
the  smoke. 

The  men  sprang  to  their  feet,  aston- 
ished to  see  such  magic.  White  Feather's 
speech  returned,  and  in  answer  to  the 
questions  put  to  him,  he  told  his  story  to 
the  chief. 

Red  Wing  cad  the  council  listened  and 
smoked  for  a  time  in  silence.  Then  the 
oldest  and  wisest  brave  ordered  the  giant 
to  appear  before  White  Feather,  who 
should  transform  him  into  a  dog.  White 
Feather  accomplished  this  by  knocking 
upon  him  the  ashes  from  the  magic  pipe. 
It  was  next  decreed  that  the  boys  of  the 
tribe  should  take  the  war-clubs  of  their 
fathers  and,  driving  the  animal  into  the 
forest,  beat  him  to  death. 

White  Feather  wished  to  reward  his 
friends,  so  he  invited  them  to  a  buffalo 
hunt,  to  take  place  in  four  days'  time,  and 
he  bade  them  prepare  many  arrows.  To 
make  ready  for  them,  he  cut  a  buffalo 
robe  into  strips,  which  he  sowed  upon  the 
prairie. 

On  the  day  appointed  the  warriors  found 
that  these  shreds  of  sTiin  had  grown  into 
a  large  herd  of  buffaloes.  They  killed  as 
many  as  they  pleased,  for  White  Feather 


^ 


h 


91    >^) 


"f-V-^- 


x*^< 


-..f. 


'.^e     ""^ 


92 


Amekican  Ijstdian  Tales 


tipped  each  arrow  with  magic,  so  that  none  ^     U.j 

missed  their  aim.  -MaS' 

A  grand    feast  followed  in  honor  of  ^^9'^. 

White  Feather's  triumph  over  the  giants  ?^ 
and  of  his  n  arriage  with  Crystal  Stone. 


Hi 


V 


«i^g»%^         W" 


y 


THE  STAR  MAIDEN. 


<^ 


9^: 


:\     "^. 


■^\\ 


^ 


«_!L^^"^#  i|     ^^,^**  '"^g 


r 


^   yy^ 


THE   STAR  MAIDEN. 


HE  O  jib  ways  were  a  great 
nation  whom  the  fairies 
loved.  Their  land  was 
the  home  of  many  spirits, 
and  as  long  as  they  lived 
on  the  shores  of  the  great 
lakes  the  woods  in  that 
country  were  full  of  fairies.  Some  of  them 
dwelt  in  the  moss  at  the  roots  or  on  the 
trunks  of  trees.  Others  hid  beneath  the 
mushrooms  and  toadstools .  Some  changed 
themselves  into  bright -winged  butterflies 
or  tinier  insects  with  shining  wings.  This 
they  did  that  they  might  be  near  the 
children  they  loved  and  play  with  them 
where  they  could  see  and  be  seen. 

But  there  were  also  evil  spirits  in  the 
land.  These  burrowed  in  the  ground, 
gnawed  at  the  roots  of  the  loveliest  flow- 
ers and  destroyed  them.  They  breathed 
upon  the  corn  and  blighted  it.  They  lis- 
tened whenever  they  heard  men  talking, 
and  carried  the  news  to  those  with  whom 
it  would  make  most  mischief. 

It  is  because  of  these  wicked  fairies 
that  the  Indian  must  be  silent  in  the 


J5le^ 


.  f^ 


96 


American  Indian  Tales 


woods  and  must  not  whisper  confidences 
in  the  camp  unless  he  is  sure  the  spirits 
are  fast  asleep  under  the  white  blanket  of 
the  snow. 

The  Ojibways  looked  well  after  the  in- 
terests of  the  good  spirits.  They  shielded 
the  flowers  and  stepped  carefully  aside 
when  moss  or  flower  was  in  their  path. 
They  brushed  no  moss  from  the  trees,  and 
they  never  snared  the  sunbeams,  for  on 
them  thousands  of  fairies  came  down  from 
the  sky.  When  the  chase  was  over  they 
sat  in  the  doorways  of  their  wigwams 
smoking,  and  as  they  watched  the  blue 
circles  drift  and  fade  into  the  darkness  of 
the  evening,  they  listened  to  the  voices 
of  the  fairies  and  the  insects'  hum  and  the 
thousand  tiny  noises  that  night  always 
brings. 

One  night  as  they  were  listening  they 
saw  a  bright  light  shining  in  the  top  of 
the  tallest  trees.  It  was  a  star  brighter 
than  all  the  others,  and  it  seemed  very 
near  the  earth.  When  they  went  close 
to  the  tree  they  found  that  it  was  really 
caught  in  the  topmost  branches. 

The  wise  men  of  the  tribe  were  sum- 
moned and  for  three  nights  they  sat  about 
the  council  fire,  but  they  came  to  no  con- 
clusion about  the  beautiful  star.     At  last 


#i 


r^', 


„  ...^ 


'««•«, 


Clt-- 


"<fe 


The  Star  Maiden 


one  of  the  young  warriors  went  to  them 
and  told  them  that  the  truth  had  come  to 
him  in  a  dream. 

While  asleep  the  west  wind  had  lifted 
the  curtains  of  his  wigwam  and  the  light 
of  the  star  fell  full  upon  him.  Suddenly 
a  beautiful  maiden  stood  at  his  side.  She 
smiled  upon  him,  and  as  he  gazed  speech- 
less she  told  him  that  her  home  was  in 
the  star  and  that  in  wandering  over  all 
the  earth  she  had  seen  no  land  so  fair  as 
the  land  of  the  O  jib  ways.  Its  flowers, 
its  sweet-voiced  birds,  its  rivers,  its  beau- 
tiful lakes,  the  mountains  clothed  in 
green,  these  had  charmed  her,  and  she 
wished  to  be  no  more  a  wanderer.  If  they 
would  welcome  her  she  would  make  her 
home  among  them,  and  she  asked  them  to 
choose  a  place  in  which  she  might  dwell. 

The  council  were  greatly  pleased ;  but 
they  could  not  agree  upon  what  was  best 
to  offer  the  Star  Maiden,  so  they  decided 
to  ask  her  to  choose  for  herself. 

She  searched  first  among  the  flowers  of 
the  prairie.  There  she  found  the  fairies' 
ring,  where  the  little  spirits  danced  on 
moonlight  nights.  ^'  Here,"  thought  she, 
''  I  will  rest."  But  as  she  swung  herself 
backwards  and  forwards  on  the  stem  of  a 
lovely  blossom,  she  heard  a  terrible  noise 


"%. 


y- 


■^^>- 


98 


American  Indian  Tales 


and  fled  in  great  fear.  A  vast  herd  of 
bnffaloes  came  and  took  possession  of  the 
fairies'  ring,  where  they  rolled  over  one 
another,  and  bellowed  so  they  could  be 
heard  far  on  the  trail.  No  gentle  star 
maiden  could  choose  such  a  resting-place. 

She  next  sought  the  mountain  rose.  It 
was  cool  and  pleasant,  the  moss  was  soft 
to  her  dainty  feet,  and  she  could  talk  to 
the  spirits  she  loved,  whose  homes  were  in 
the  stars.  But  the  mountain  was  steep, 
and  huge  rocks  hid  from  her  view  the  na- 
tion that  she  loved. 

She  was  almost  in  despair,  when  one 
day  as  she  looked  down  from  the  edge  of 
the  wild  rose  leaf  she  saw  a  white  flower 
with  a  heart  of  gold  shining  on  the  waters 
of  the  lake  below  her.  As  she  looked  a 
canoe  steered  by  the  young  warrior  who 
had  told  her  wishes  to  his  people,  shot 
past,  and  his  strong,  brown  hand  brushed 
the  edge  of  the  flower. 

^'  That  is  the  home  for  me,"  she  cried, 
and  half-skipping,  half -flying  down  the 
side  of  the  mountain,  she  quickly  made 
her  way  to  the  flower  and  hid  herself  in 
its  bosom.  There  she  could  watch  the 
stars  as  well  as  when  she  looked  upward 
from  the  cup  of  the  mountain  rose ;  there 
she  could  talk  to  the  star  spirits,  for  they 


f^J.  v 


The  Star  Maiden 


bathed  in  the  clear  lake ;  and  best  of  all, 
there  she  could  watch  the  people  whom         ^*\  ^ 
she  loved,  for  their  canoes  were  always  '^ 

upon  the  water. 


v"' 


m;£]^iiyF£. 


m 


"v-v-«feEr 


f^f^ 


t\a 


f5fi. 


1^     ^s 


^  <^'^-* 


\ 


THE  FIGHTING  HARE. 


U-' 


:^^ 


THE  FIGHTING  HARE. 


HE   Prince  of  tlie  Hares 

was    playing    with    his 

children  in  front  of  his 

burrow,  one  day,  when, 

growing  tired,  he  threw 

back   his  ears,   drew  in 

his  feet,  and  lay  down 

to  sleep. 

Meanwhile  the  sun  came  up  and  passed 

so  close  to  the  earth  that  it  burnt  his  back 

full  of  holes.     The  Hare  felt  very  sore ; 

and  as  he  rubbed  himself,  his  fur  came  off 

in  great  patches,  so  that  his  beauty  was 

spoiled.     He  was   furiously   angry,   and 

starting  up,  cried  out  that  he  would  fight 

the  sun ;  and  in  spite  of  all  that  his  friends 

could  say,  went  at  once  in  pursuit  of  him. 

The  land  where  the  Hare  lived  was  a 

vast  plain.     When  he  had  come  to  the 

end  of  it,  he  climbed  a  high  hill  in  order 

to  look  over  the  country.     He  saw  below 

him  on  the  other  side  a  field  of  green 

plumes  nodding  to  the  west  wind.     He 

had  never  seen  corn  growing  before,  and 

did  not  know  what  tlie^e  plumes  were. 

He  ran  eagerly  to  the  place,  broke  off 


'» 


^ 


MiK 


vc/ 


>:^n 


A# 


104        Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

as  many  as  lie  could  carry,  and  hid  them 
behind  the  rocks.  Then  he  rubbed  two 
dead  branches  together  and  made  a  fire, 
in  which  he  roasted  the  corn. 

Presently  the  owner  came  along,  and 
seeing  the  damage  done,  called  his  war- 
riors to  fight  the  thief. 

The  Hare  had  burrowed  a  hole  at  the 
side  of  the  rock,  and  when  the  arrows 
were  hurled  at  him,  he  blew  them  back 
with  his  magic  breath.  The  warriors  ran 
to  catch  him,  but  so  great  was  their  haste 
that  one  rushed  upon  another,  and  each 
caught  only  the  other's  fists.  Then  they 
thought  of  digging  him  out.  They 
worked  until  the  Sun  Prince  was  half 
way  home,  but  before  they  had  caught 
sight  of  the  Hare,  he  had  escaped  through 
a  secret  passage. 

He  ran  to  a  rock  a  little  way  off  and 
higher  than  the  one  beneath  which  they 
were  digging,  and  hurled  his  magic  ball 
at  the  burrow,  breaking  away  the  floor 
and  the  sides,  so  that  it  fell  in,  burying 
the  Chief  and  all  his  followers. 

The  next  morning  the  Hare  saw  two 
men  making  arrowheads  of  hot  rocks. 
He  watched  them  heating  the  rocks,  and 
when  they  were  red  hot,  he  cried  out: 
'^  Oho !  hot  rocks  will  not  burn  me !  " 


\ 


c9i 


a 


y 


The  Fighting  Hake 

The  men  looked  up,  and  one 
said  :   ' '  Are  you  a  wizard  ? 

''No,"  said  the  Hare,  ''but  I  am  a 
better  man  than  you  are,  or  the  man  who 
is  working  with  you.  I  will  lie  on  the 
hot  rocks,  if  you  will  let  me  hold  you  on 
them  in  the  same  manner. ' ' 

They  agreed.  So,  when  the  rocks  were 
glowing,  the  Hare  laid  himself  on  top  of 
them,  and  the  men  pressed  him  down 
against  them  with  their  hands.  But  he 
breathed  heavily,  and  his  magic  breath  so 
cooled  the  part  on  which  he  was  lying 
that  not  a  particle  of  his  fur  was  singed. 

The  men  having  no  such  protection, 
soon  begged  for  mercy,  but  the  Hare  held 
them  to  their  promise  and  they  both  per- 
ished. "  So  much  for  making  one's  self 
equal  to  a  wizard, ' '  said  the  Hare  to  him- 
self as  he  continued  his  journey. 

The  following  day  he  passed  by  a  high 
cliff  round  which  the  winds  blew  so  hard 
that  it  was  known  by  the  men  of  that 
country  as  Hurricane  Cliff.  It  overhung 
a  deep  ravine  in  which  were  sunflowers  as 
tall  as  trees  and  the  heads  were  heavy 
with  seeds. 

The  Hare  took  a  handful  of  seeds  and 
amused  himself  by  throwing  them  into 
the  air  and  catching  them  in  his  mouth. 


m^>^ 


M^0 


ii    ft 


106 


American  Indiaj^  Tales 


WMle  doing  tMs  he  heard  voices,  and 
looking  up,  saw  a  group  of  women  who 
were  plotting  to  kill  him. 

^'Oho!"  they  said,  '^let  ns  call  the 
hurricane  to  hurl  a  rock  down  on  him." 

The  Hare  said  nothing,  but  went  in  full 
sight  of  them  and  began  eating  the  seeds 
with  great  relish.  The  women  looked  at 
them  longingly,  and  finally  asked  him  to 
share  his  dainties  with  them,  not  know- 
ing what  he  really  had. 

He  tossed  a  handful  of  seeds  into  the 
air,  and  they  tried  hard  to  catch  them,  but 
failed  again  and  again,  each  time  going 
nearer  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  till,  in  her 
eagerness,  the  one  nearest  the  edge 
reached  out  too  far  and  fell  into  the 
ravine.  The  others  were  so  close  that 
they  fell  over  her ;  so  all  but  two  were 
dashed  to  pieces,  and  these  vowed  ven- 
geance on  the  Hare. 

He  met  them  soon  afterwards  gather- 
ing berries,  and  called  out  that  he  would 
give  them  the  revenge  they  wished. 
' '  Come, ' '  said  he,  ' '  you  may  blow  these 
blackberry  thorns  and  leaves  into  my  eyes. 
I  will  let  you  try  first  and  if  you  do  not 
blind  me  you  must  let  me  do  the  same  to 
you." 

They  took  him  at  his  word  and  threw 


t 


f^^ 


The  Fighting  Hare  107 

a  handful  of  little  else  than  thorns.  But 
by  breathing  as  he  had  done  when  on  the 
hot  rocks,  he  blew  them  all  from  him. 

The  women  trusted  to  their  hands  to 
protect  them,  but  the  Hare  aimed  well 
and  the  thorns  passed  between  their  fin- 
gers and  put  their  eyes  quite  out. 

He  had  one  more  adventure  with  wom- 
en .  While  passing  through  a  lonely  place 
he  saw  several  women  weaving  jugs  of 
willow  which  they  made  water-tight  by 
smearing  them  inside  with  pitch.  They, 
too,  were  planning  to  destroy  him. 

He  went  boldly  up  to  them  and  proposed 
that  they  should  put  him  inside  one  of 
the  jugs.  As  he  could  not  get  into  those 
already  made  they  put  him  into  one  that 
was  not  finished  and  wove  the  neck  of 
the  jug  about  him,  making  it  very  small, 
so  that  he  should  not  escape. 

While  they  were  laughing  at  the  ease 
with  which  he  had  been  caught  he  burst 
the  jug  open  and  stepped  out  unhurt. 

He  then  compelled  them  to  get  inside 
of  the  jugs  and  to  let  him  weave  the  necks 
about  them.  He  worked  slowly  at  first 
to  make  them  think  that  he  did  not  know 
how  to  weave,  but  he  made  the  necks 
strong  and  fastened  them  well. 

Then  he  rolled  the  jugs  about  till  the 


'^^— >,.J'^^r"--^'rf^«'''^' 


^ 


t 


i  f 


-;/ 


Ameeican  Iis^dian  Tales 


women  were  shaken  and  badly  bruised. 
They  threatened  to  be  revenged,  but  when 
he  knocked  them  harder  and  their  blood 
ran  out  over  the  ground,  they  begged  him 
to  let  them  out. 

He  would  not,  but,  after  a  time,  think- 
ing that  they  had  suffered  enough,  he 
struck  each  jug  with  his  magic  ball  and 
put  them  out  of  their  misery. 

A  tarantula  who  had  watched  the  Hare 
resolved  to  punish  him  by  his  own  meth- 
ods. The  spider  had  a  magic  club  which 
poisoned  everything  it  struck,  but  never 
injured  him.  He  called  to  the  Hare  and 
asked  to  be  struck  with  the  club. 

The  Hare  raised  it  and  beat  him  on  the 
head  and  back,  but  the  spider  remained 
unhurt.  He  began  to  suspect  something 
wrong,  and  just  before  it  was  his  turn  to 
be  struck  he  changed  the  sjDider's  club 
for  his  magic  ball  and  killed  the  insect 
with  one  blow. 

Thus  he  traveled  on,  conquering  all  who 
opposed  him  or  plotted  against  him,  till 
he  came  to  the  edge  of  the  world.  There 
he  saw  a  high  cliff  covered  with  trees  of 
all  sizes  and  kinds.  He  went  up  to  the 
maple  and  said :  ' '  What  are  you  good 
for,  pray?  " 

The  maple  shook  its  leaves  in  great  dis- 


\ 


^ 


The  Fighting  Hake 


109 


dain  and  said :  ^ '  I  am  the  food  of  the 
Great  Head.  The  blood  of  my  children  is 
sweet  and  nourishing,  and  they  give  it 
freely  to  the  nations." 

The  Hare  next  went  to  the  larch  and 
asked :   '  ^  What  are  yon  good  for  ?  ' ' 

'^I,"  said  the  larch,  ''bind  together 
the  canoes  of  the  people.  If  it  were  not 
for  me  they  could  not  sail  upon  the  lakes 
and  rivers." 

The  cedar  answered  the  question  by 
saying:  ''I  make  the  canoes  strong,  so 
that  they  will  bear  the  weight  of  the 
great  warriors.  If  it  were  not  for  me, 
none  but  women  and  children  could  sail 
on  the  waters." 

The  birch  stood  next  in  his  way  and 
said :  ' '  If  it  were  not  for  me  you  could 
make  no  canoes  at  all.  My  bark  is  for 
the  picture-writing  of  the  people.  How, 
but  for  me,  could  one  Chief  talk  to  his 
brother  who  lives  by  the  distant  river?  " 

The  fir-tree  boasted  of  its  balsam  with- 
out which  the  canoe  could  not  glide  upon 
the  water. 

' '  Ugh ! ' '  said  the  Hare.  * '  You  all  say 
that  no  canoe  could  be  made  without  you. 
You,  Linden,  you  have  no  part  in  these 
canoes ;  what  are  you  good  for? 

I,"    said  the  Linden,   ''am  for  the 


ff.9 


^ 


/^ 


9 


110 


American  Indian  Tales 


Bl 

•••/»?-, 


jfe 


m^ 


cradles  of  the  children.  Without  me 
where  could  they  be  rocked  and  put  to 
sleep  when  the  beautiful  red  has  gone 
from  the  sky  and  the  night  comes  ?  From 
me  you  take  the  bass  wood  for  your  bowls 
and  your  drinking-cups." 

The  Oak  stood  in  his  path,  and  before 
the  question  was  put  to  it,  touched  his 
head  with  its  lower  branches  and  said  in 
a  deep  voice :  ^  ^  I  shelter  the  great  war- 
riors. I  mark  the  spot  for  their  councils. 
From  my  boughs  are  made  the  swift  ar- 
rows that  bring  food  to  the  feet  of  the 
hunter  and  carry  death  to  his  enemies." 

The  Ash  sighed  and  whispered :  ' '  From 
me  is  taken  the  bow  that  speeds  the  arrow 
in  its  flight." 

The  Red  Willow  drooped  its  head  as  it 
said :  ^'  My  bark  is  for  the  pipe  of  the  In- 
dian, my  wands  are  to  bid  him  to  the 
feast.  My  osiers  are  for  his  baskets,  his 
mats  and  his  water- jugs. ' ' 

Thus  every  tree  claimed  to  be  of  so 
much  use  that  men  could  not  do  without 
it.  At  last  the  Hare  came  to  a  little  tree 
hardly  more  than  a  shrub,  many  of  whose 
leaves  were  blighted.  "  Of  what  use  are 
you  ? ' '  asked  he. 

*'None,"  said  the  tree,   *' unless  you 


can  use  me. 


;;|^:^  ^-h 


j> 


jfl 


"  He  went  to  the  top  of  the  clifi'and  saw  the  sun  just  rising."  jdiTJ^^ 


^4 


%      ^^ 


The  Fighting  Hare  111 

* '  We  shall  see,  we  shall  see, ' '  said  the 
Hare. 

He  went  to  the  top  of  the  cliff  and  saw 
the  sun  just  rising.  It  caught  sight  of 
him  at  the  same  moment,  and  knowing 
that  he  had  come  for  vengeance,  it  retreated 
quickly  into  its  cave. 

It  stayed  there  three  days  and  all  the 
world  suffered  from  cold  and  darkness. 
At  last  the  noise  of  the  people  in  their 
discontent  reached  the  sun  and  he  was 
obliged  to  come  out. 

The  Hare  had  his  arrows  ready  and 
aimed  many  at  him,  but  they  fell  short  of 
their  mark.  When  the  sun  was  directly 
overhead  he  drew  forth  a  magic  arrow, 
which  he  dipped  into  a  magic  tear  that 
escaped  from  his  eye.  With  this  he  took 
good  aim.  It  struck  the  sun  and  broke  it 
into  thousands  of  fragments. 

The  flying  pieces  set  the  whole  world  on 
fire.  It  burned  the  forest,  the  prairie, 
the  villages,  the  corn  and  the  wild  rice, 
the  pumpkin  vines  and  the  gourds,  the 
grapes  and  the  nuts. 

The  children  of  the  Hare  Prince  ran  into 
their  burrow  and  the  Great  Elk  led  many 
of  the  other  animals  into  a  vast  field  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  around  which  was 
drawn  a  sacred  line  that  no  fire  could  cross. 


/ 


American  Indian  Tales 


The  fire  burnt  the  cliff  at  the  edge  of 
the  world.  The  Hare  sought  refuge  first 
in  one  tree  and  then  in  another ;  but  they 
were  all  destroyed  except  the  little  one 
that  had  said  it  was  of  no  use.  It  was 
so  small  that  it  could  not  wholly  protect 
him.  His  tail,  his  back,  his  feet  and  the 
tips  of  his  ears  were  burnt,  every  part 
of  him  except  his  head. 

He  rolled  over  and  over  trying  to  get 
relief,  but  his  pain  was  so  great  that  his 
eyes  burst,  and  the  water  gushing  from 
them  put  out  the  fire. 

The  sun  had  been  conquered  and  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  council. 
They  found  him  guilty  of  cruelty  and 
indifference  to  the  welfare  of  men ;  so  he 
was  compelled  to  travel  the  same  trail 
day  after  day  for  all  time  and  at  a  fixed 
distance  from  the  earth.  Thus  he  can  no 
longer  burn  trees  or  animals,  nor  can  he 
leave  them  in  cold  and  darkness. 


<.rh 


THE  GREAT  HEAD, 


■<l-^=^ 


gf^' 


.?J^ 


■^,.-^,'T^-'-^ 


"  It  formed  a  small  lake." 


! 


^ 


^y 


ONE  WOLF  was  an  In- 
dian, who  with  his  wife 
and  ten  sons  moved 
some  distance  from 
their  tribe  and  built 
themselves  a  lodge  in 
the  forest.  The  man 
and  his  wife  were  both 
old,  and  when  sickness  came  they  had  no 
strength  to  fight  it,  but  died  within  a  few 
moons  of  each  other.  The  sons  were  too 
young  to  live  by  themselves,  and  there- 
fore went  to  the  wigwam  of  their  uncle, 
Deep  Lake,  their  mother's  brother.  He 
gave  them  food  and  shelter  until  the 
elder  ones  were  able  to  hunt  and  so  pro- 
vide for  their  brothers. 

One  morning  several  of  them  started 
out,  each  going  in  a  different  direction. 
The  eldest  went  towards  the  north,  be- 
cause he  was  better  able  to  travel  far  and 
to  light  the  fierce  animals  which  lived  in 
that  region. 

The  night  came,  bright  with  many  stars, 
but  he  did  not  return. 

The  next  morning  the  second  brother 

115 


^^}r^- 


^  ..-X  -.^'t^- 


116 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


set  out  in  the  same  direction,  thinking  he 
might  find  the  trail  of  the  other.  He 
did  not  return.  Then  the  third  brother 
went  in  search  of  those  who  had  dis- 
appeared, and  he,  too,  was  seen  no  more. 

Thus  they  all  followed  one  another, 
until  only  the  youngest,  Little  Elk,  was 
left  with  his  uncle.  He  was  too  small 
and  feeble  to  hope  to  succeed  where  his 
brothers  had  failed ;  and  Deep  Lake  for- 
bade him  going  out  alone,  for  fear  the 
witch  or  giant  who  had  destroyed  his 
brothers  should  do  him  harm. 

One  day  while  Deep  Lake  and  Little 
Elk  were  in  the  woods  together  they 
heard  a  deep  groan  which  seemed  to  come 
from  the  ground.  They  searched  and 
found  a  man  covered  with  mold  and  lying 
under  a  great  log. 

*' Quick,"  said  Deep  Lake  to  his 
nephew,  '^  run  to  the  lodge  and  get  the 
bear's  oil." 

Little  Elk  hurried  to  the  wigwam  and 
returned  with  a  jar  of  bear's  oil,  with 
which  he  rubbed  the  man  until  he  became 
conscious  and  was  able  to  speak.  His 
words  were  very  strange,  considering  that 
he  had  never  seen  either  of  them  before. 

'*You,"  said  he,  looking  at  the  boy, 
**  are  Little  Elk.     You  had  nine  brothers 


r^-  «- 


■■*.    ■Q.^.^^SS 


^.  *M^. 


i^«i^'^ 


•^/^ 


The  Great  Head 


117 


who  set  out  towards  the  barren  place 
to  hunt,  and  not  one  of  them  ever  re- 
turned." 

The  old  man  began  to  suspect  magic, ' 
and  asked,  tremblingly ,''  Who  are  you?  " 

*  *  I, "  said  the  stranger,  ' '  am  Rotten 
Foot,  the  brother  of  the  Great  Head." 

Deep  Lake  knew  well  about  the  Great 
Head.  It  was  an  enormous  head  without 
any  body.  It  had  large  eyes  that  rolled 
about  fearfully,  and  long,  coarse  hair  like 
that  of  the  grizzly  bear,  and  it  streamed 
over  the  huge  cleft  rock  that  was  his 
home.  Seen  or  unseen,  if  it  caught  sight 
of  any  living  thing  it  would  shriek  in  a 
shrill  voice,  ^'  I  see  thee,  I  see  thee ;  thou 
Shalt  die!" 

Deep  Lake  had  been  a  brave  chief,  and 
he  thought  perhaps  he  could  conquer  the 
Great  Head,  or  that  at  least  he  could 
find  out  about  his  nephews,  whom  he  felt 
sure  the  Head  had  destroyed,  and  the 
plan  which  occurred  to  him  was  to  be  kind 
to  the  Head's  brother,  so  that  he  might 
learn  more  about  him. 

He  therefore  invited  Rotten  Foot  to  his 
wigwam,  gave  him  the  most  comfortable 
seat  by  the  fire,  rubbed  his  stiff  limbs 
with  bear's  oil,  and  set  dainty  food  be- 


^^ 


fore  him. 


<!*r\fll 


^Mih 


A^^ 


-^'^^^"'^^^^'^ 


118        American  Indian  Tales 

When  he  was  warm  and  well  fed,  Deep 
Lake  began  to  question  him  about  the 
Head.  ' '  Could  you  bring  him  here  ? ' '  he 
said  at  last. 

' '  He  would  not  come  merely  for  the 
asking,  but  I  might  lure  him  hither,'* 
was  the  reply. 

The  next  day  E-otten  Foot  set  out  in 
search  of  his  brother.  He  promised  to 
use  all  his  skill  and  magic,  if  necessary,  to 
bring  him  to  the  lodge.  ''Have  ready 
some  blocks  of  the  maple  tree  for  the 
Head's  food,  in  case  he  should  return  with 
me,"  said  he,  as  he  set  out  on  his  journey. 

He  pulled  up  a  hickory  tree  and  made 
arrows  of  its  roots;  then  he  crept  cau- 
tiously along  until  he  saw  the  cleft  rock 
in  the  distance.  Fearing  that  he  might 
be  seen,  he  used  his  magic  and  crawled  in- 
side a  mole  and  told  the  animal  to  burrow 
in  the  ground,  so  as  to  hide  him. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  heard  the 
Head  growl,  "I  see  thee,  I  see  thee ;  thou 
Shalt  die!" 

He  looked  out  and  saw  that  his  brother 
was  watching  an  owl,  which  immediately 
dropped  from  the  tree,  its  flesh  crumbled 
and  its  bones  immediately  lay  bare. 

Rotten  Foot  drew  out  an  arrow  and 
aimed  it  at  his  brother.     It  was  but  a 


The  Great  Head 


small  arrow  when  it  started,  but  it  grew 
larger  and  larger  as  it  neared  the  Head. 
It  did  not  strike  him,  but  flew  back,  grow- 
ing smaller  and  smaller  until  it  was  its 
original  size,  and  slipped  itself  into  the 
quiver  at  Eotten  Foot's  side. 

Feeling  sure  that  the  Head  would  fol- 
low him,  he  turned  and  ran  towards  Deep 
Lake's  wigwam.  The  ridge  that  the  mole 
made  as  it  passed  along  completely  hid 
him  from  the  view  of  the  Head,  who  soon 
followed  in  a  roaring  tempest. 

Deep  Lake  heard  him  tearing  through 
the  forest,  and  provided  himself  and  Lit- 
tle Elk  with  war-clubs  in  case  he  should 
attack  the  wigwam. 

Just  as  Rotten  Foot  reached  the  wig- 
wam and  was  about  to  jump  out  of  the 
mole's  skin,  the  Head  recognized  his 
brother.  He  was  delighted  to  see  him, 
for  he  had  long  since  supposed  him  dead. 
He  laughed  so  loudly  that  the  clouds 
were  broken  and  a  rainbow  appeared 
above  the  trees. 

On  hearing  the  change  in  his  voice,  from 
fierce  anger  to  laughter.  Deep  Lake  and 
Little  Elk  dropped  their  clubs  and  brought 
out  the  blocks  of  the  maple  tree. 

The  Head  devoured  them  greedily,  and 
when  he  had  finished  he  told  them  that 


« 


1 


III) 


■^**' 


120 


American  Indian  Tales 


he  liad  made  up  his  mind  to  kill  a  witch 
who  lived  towards  the  north,  and  who 
destroyed  twice  as  many  animals  and  men 
as  he  did.     "  I  never  kill  the  brave  or  the 


innocent, ' ' 


said  he;    ''but   she  has  no 


mercy,  and  draws  men  to  their  death  by 
her  sweet  songs.  They  lull  the  unwary 
hunter  as  the  snow  lulls  him  when  he 
staggers  and  falls  in  the  forest. ' ' 

Deep  Lake  then  said,  ''  Let  me  go  with 
you,  for  the  witch  has  slain  my  nephews, 
nine  men,  all  brothers  of  this  lad." 

''No,"  said  the  Head,  "  I  will  take  the 
boy,  and  he  shall  help  to  avenge  their 
death." 

They  traveled  in  the  night,  and  early 
in  the  morning  came  in  sight  of  the 
witch's  lodge.  It  was  a  cave  filled  with 
dead  men's  bones.  Their  fingers  hung 
from  the  roof,  their  scalps  were  heaped 
together  for  her  couch,  their  skulls  were 
her  bowls  and  kettles. 

She  sat  rocking  herself  to  and  fro,  sing- 
ing a  low,  sweet  song,  the  notes  of  which 
made  all  who  heard  it  turn  cold  and  shiver 
till  all  their  flesh  was  shaken  off  them 
and  they  became  nothing  but  dry  bones. 

The  Head  had  told  Little  Elk  to  put 
two  clover  blossoms  into  his  ears  so  that 
he  could  not  hear  her.     When  they  were 


t  /°) 


ISJ^""^ 


The  Great  Head 


near  her  lodge  he  said  to  the  lad  :  ^'  I  will 
ask  her  the  question,  ^  How  long  have  you 
been  here?'  This  will  break  the  charm 
of  her  song  upon  me,  but  you  will  see  the 
hair  fall  from  my  head.  You  must  put 
it  back  as  fast  as  it  comes  out  and  it  will 
grow  at  once  and  very  long ;  then  I  will 
jump  upon  her  and  bite  her.  You  must 
take  the  pieces  of  flesh  from  my  mouth 
and  throw  them  from  you,  saying,  *  Be  a 
fox,  a  bird,'  or  anything  you  choose,  so 
they  will  run  off  and  never  return." 

As  they  crept  up  to  the  cave,  the  Head 
shouted,  ^^How  long  have  you  been 
here?" 

His  hair  began  to  fall  out  in  long,  thick 
locks,  which  Little  Elk  at  once  replaced. 
The  Head  then  jumped  upon  the  witch, 
and  she  screamed  and  begged  for  mercy ; 
but  he  answered,  ^'  You  had  no  mercy  on 
others ;  you  must  die !  ' ' 

He  bit  her  and  killed  her,  and  all  the 
plain  was  covered  with  animals  and  the 
river  was  filled  with  fish  from  the  pieces 
of  her  body.  To  make  sure  of  her  never 
coming  to  life  again,  they  burned  her 
bones  and  scattered  them  on  the  river. 

Then  the  Head  told  Little  Elk  to  search 
for  the  year-old  bones,  which  would  be 
whiter  than  the  others,   and  lay  them 


C 


together.  ^  ^  JSTow, ' '  said  lie,  * '  I  am  going 
home,  and  as  I  go  I  will  raise  a  tempest 
that  will  strike  into  the  mouth  of  this 
cave.  As  it  touches  the  bones,  you  must 
say,  ^  All  arise.'  " 

Little  Elk  had  just  laid  down  the  last 
bone  when  he  heard  the  wind  rising  in 
the  forest.  As  it  blew  into  the  cave  he 
called  loudly,  ' '  All  arise !  ' ' 

The  bones  stood  up  and  were  immedi- 
ately covered  with  llesh.  The  brothers 
recognized  one  another,  and  one  and  all 
praised  Little  Elk  for  his  courage  and  his 
patience.  Then  they  vanished  down  the 
trail  in  the  forest. 


V 


-^1-~r-^ 


1  "Tgygateaeaaa.,^ 


n 


v^ 


9 
4i' 


THE  ADVENTURES  OP  LIVING 
STATUE. 


fv 


L'S'T 


>^  YS, 


'^  ®)^ 


^•;" 


l^f 


^cf^»     / 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  LIVING 
STATUE. 


^•^ 


\ 


L*< 


^^ 


IVING  STATUE  was  a 
great  magician  of  the 
Ottawas,  wlio  lived  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Hu- 
ron. His  wigwam  was 
of  skin  that  had  been 
scrubbed  and  bleached 
until  it  shone  like  snow 
when  the  sun  falls  upon  it ;  and  it  could 
be  seen  at  a  great  distance.  From  the 
lodge  pole  downwards  it  was  covered  with 
paintings,  some  done  by  the  magician  and 
others  by  his  friends,  each  telling  a  won- 
derful tale  of  his  magic. 

His  couch  was  of  white  buffalo  skins, 
which  are  very  rare  and  precious.  His 
pipes  were  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw 
them,  for  they  were  ornamented  with  red 
feathers  from  the  breast  of  the  robin, 
blue  from  the  jay,  purple  from  the  neck 
of  the  pigeon,  and  green  from  the  throat 
of  the  drake.  His  moccasins  of  rabbit 
skin,  dyed  scarlet,  were  the  softest  that 
could  be  made.     They  were  worked  with 

125 


tA 


m.fi 


f2 


mj>>i> 


«»V*^V 


;lf^^ 


^,c 


'^^ 


126 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


..^r^ 


beads  brought  by  a  messenger  from  a  far- 
distant  tribe,  who  had  received  them  from 
the  Pale -faces  that  came  across  the  Big 
Salt  Lake.  But  the  most  wonderful 
thing  about  these  moccasins  was  that 
they  were  magic  shoes ;  for  every  stride 
he  took  in  them  carried  him  over  a  mile 
of  ground. 

His  flute  was  a  reed  cut  in  the  swamp 
forest.  When  he  blew  a  loud  note  upon 
it  the  distant  rocks  answered  him,  and 
the  little  vanishing  men  who  danced  in 
the  moonlight,  took  up  the  music  and 
laughed  it  back  to  him.  When  he 
breathed  softly  upon  it  no  Indian  heard 
him ;  for  the  sound  went  straight  into  the 
heart  of  the  flowers.  The  fairies  hearing 
it  crept  forth  and  balanced  themselves  on 
the  petals  of  the  flowers  that  they  might 
hear  the  better. 

The  magician's  sister,  Sweet  Strawberry, 
whose  fawn -skin  robe  may  be  seen  in  the 
moon  on  bright  nights,  sometimes  rested 
on  the  topmost  branches  of  the  tall  trees 
to  listen.  She  had  once  lived  with  him, 
but  the  Moon  Prince  had  taken  her  to  be 
his  bride,  and  all  the  tribe  mourned  for 
her  as  for  one  dead. 

Living  Statue  talked  with  the  birds  and 
the  squirrels,   who  laid  down  and  died 


^"^^ 


-<iius^'^^ 


Adventures  of  Living  Statue  127 


--^... 


and  rolled  out  of  their  skins  when  he 
asked  for  them.  He  was  the  friend  of  all 
the  rabbits,  who  were  proud  to  have  him 
eat  them.  When  he  had  finished  the 
meal,  he  read  the  story  of  the  animal's 
life  in  its  bones,  and  if  it  had  been  good 
in  its  time  he  stroked  its  skin  and  it  came 
to  life  again,  and  could  nevermore  be 
caught. 

One  day,  as  Living  Statue  was  walking 
across  the  plain  near  the  edge  of  the  for- 
est, he  met  a  little  man  no  higher  than 
his  knee.  The  dwarf  was  dressed  all  in 
green,  and  wore  a  green  cap  with  a  red 
plume  in  it. 

« ^  Fight  me,  fight  me, ' '  said  the  dwarf, 
placing  himself  directly  in  front  of  the 
magician. 

Living  Statue  tried  to  kick  him  out  of 
his  path.  Thereupon  his  foot  began  to 
swell  so  that  he  could  hardly  move. 

^*  Fight  me,  fight  me,"  said  the  dwarf, 
who  again  danced  in  front  of  him. 

Living  Statue  stooped  and  took  hold  of 
him,  intending  to  throw  him  to  one  side, 
but  he  found  the  dwarf  too  strong  for 
him.  He  strove  in  vain  to  lift  him,  so  he 
wrestled  with  him  till  his  arms  were 
tired ;  but  the  dwarf  was  not  overcome. 
At  last,  by  a  great  effort  he  pushed  him 


t^~' 


SiiBI.'-t| 


128 


A:merican  Indiais"  Tales 


from  him,  tlien  rushed  at  him  with  all 
his  might  and  succeeded  in  throwing  him 
to  the  ground.  He  sprang  quickly  u]3on 
him,  and  taking  out  his  knife  prepared  to 
scalp  him. 

''  Hold,  hold,"  said  the  dwarf;  ''  I  see 
the  Ottawa  magician  is  a  brave  warrior, 
as  well  as  a  great  wizard.  He  has  fought 
and  conquered  me,  though  not  by  magic. 
I  will  show  him  greater  magic  than  any 
he  has  ever  known." 

When  he  had  done  speaking  he  threw 
himself  backwards  and  was  changed  into 
a  crooked  ear  of  corn,  which  rolled  over 
and  lay  at  the  magician's  feet. 

' '  Take  me, ' '  said  the  ear ;  ^ '  tear  off 
the  wrapper  that  is  drawn  so  tightly 
about  me  and  leave  nothing  to  hide  my 
body  from  your  eyes.  Then  pull  my 
body  to  i^ieces,  taking  all  the  flesh  from 
the  bones  and  throw  the  flesh  ux)on  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  plain.  Cover  me  with 
earth  that  the  ravens  may  not  feast  upon 
me.  My  spine  you  shall  break  in  pieces 
no  larger  than  your  thumb  and  shall  scat- 
ter them  near  the  edge  of  the  forest.  Go 
back  to  your  village  when  you  have  done 
this  and  return  to  this  place  after  one 
moon." 

Living    Statue  did  exactly  what  the 


.-'^ 


..,j^' 


^ 


Adventuees  of  Living  Statue  129 

dwarf  had  told  liim  to  do,  but  he  said 
nothing  to  the  Ottawas  about  his  adven- 
ture. It  was  not  for  them  to  understand 
magic;  they  might  try  to  do  what  he 
alone  understood  and  the  spirits  would 
be  offended. 

When  the  hot  moon  had  come  Living 
Statue  went  back  to  the  plain  where  he 
had  wrestled  with  the  dwarf,  and  there  he 
saw  a  field  of  long,  green  plumes  waving 
in  the  sunlight.     They  were  smooth  and  ^ 

glossy  and  dropped  almost  to  the  ground. 
In  color  they  were  like  the  robe  of  the 
dwarf,  only  bright  and  shining. 

While  he  was  looking  and  wondering, 
the  dwarf  suddenly  sprang  out  of  the 
broadest  stalk  and  said,  ' '  You  have  done 
well.  Let  one  moon  pass  and  another 
appear  before  you  come  again.  Then 
you  will  find  a  new  food  for  the  Ottawas, 
better  than  the  wild  rice,  sweet  as  the 
blood  of  the  maple,  and  strength -giving 
as  the  flesh  of  the  deer. ' ' 

At  the  time  appointed.  Living  Statue 
went  again  to  the  sjjot  and  there  he  found 
the  gift  of  the  corn.  He  brought  his  tribe 
to  witness,  and  to  gather  it.  Then  he 
and  three  other  magicians  painted  their 
bodies  with  white  clay  and  danced  round 
the  kettle  in  which  it  was  being  prepared, 


130 


Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


which  done,  they  took  out  the  ears  and 
burnt  them  as  a  sacrifice.  They  then  put 
out  the  fire  and  lighted  a  fresh  one,  with 
which  they  cooked  *Hhe  spirits'  berry" 
for  themselves. 

One  night  when  Living  Statue  lay 
asleep,  he  heard  the  curtain  of  his  tent  flap, 
and  presently  two  dwarfs  entered  and 
crept  up  to  his  couch.  One  climbed  upon 
his  legs  and  sat  astride  them ;  the  other 
mounted  to  his  breast  and  began  feeling 
his  throat. 

^^  Choke  him!  choke  him!"  said  the 
dwarf  at  his  feet. 

^'  I  can't;  my  hands  are  too  small  and 
weak, ' '  said  the  other. 

''Pull  his  heart  out!  Pull  his  heart 
out ! ' '  said  the  first. 

The  second  dwarf  began  pounding  and 
tugging  at  the  breast  of  the  sleeper.  At 
this  the  one  astride  his  legs  gave  his  com- 
panion a  vicious  kick,  and  said  in  a  hoarse 
whisper, ' '  You  stupid !  pull  it  out  through 
his  mouth." 

So  the  dwarf  forced  open  the  teeth  of 
Living  Statue  and  thrust  his  fingers  far 
down  his  throat.  Now,  this  was  just  what 
the  magician  thought  he  would  do;  so 
when  the  fingers  were  inside  his  mouth, 
he  shut  his  teeth  together  quickly  and  bit 


\^ 


u 


n. 


!vH^ 


^ 


^ 


4C^"^-^A- 


i 


T 


t 

I 

9, 


t 


Adventures  of  Living  Statue  131 

them  off.  Then,  slowly  raising  himself, 
he  threw  the  dwarf  who  was  on  his  legs, 
clear  to  the  door  of  the  wigwam. 

* '  Oh !  oh  !  "  cried  the  one  whose  hand 
was  bitten,  and  he  howled  like  a  dog. 
' '  Oh !  oh  !  "  cried  the  other,  and  he 
howled  like  a  wolf  as  the  two  disappeared 
in  the  darkness. 

The  magician  kept  very  still,  then  crept 
to  the  door,  raised  the  curtain  and  put  his 
head  outside  to  listen,  so  that  he  might 
know  in  what  direction  they  went.  He 
heard  them  hurrying  through  the  forest 
towards  the  lake.  There  was  a  soft  splash, 
as  of  water  when  a  canoe  bends  to  it  be- 
neath the  weight  of  a  man,  and  all  was 
still. 

In  the  morning  Living  Statue  found 
that  the  fingers  he  had  bitten  off  were 
long  wampum  beads,  greatly  prized  by 
the  Indians,  and  so  valuable  that  they 
made  him  very  rich.  He  had  no  trouble 
in  following  the  trail  of  the  dwarfs,  for  it 
was  marked  by  drops  of  blood  that  were 
changed  into  wampum  beads.  He  had 
enough  to  make  a  coat,  a  cap  and  leg- 
gings, so  that  ever  after  he  was  known  to 
all  nations  as  the  Prince  of  Wampum. 

When  he  reached  the  lake  he  saw  a 
stone  canoe  which  was  four  times  the 


^tvj 


'^■•^ 


\-\-hc 


ar^aii&«----2^>:.«:si'; ' 


ij? 


^■y 


<j: 


t/j 


i^ 


132 


American  Indian  Tales 


length  of  his  prow  and  white  as  the  waves 
when  the  strong  wind  races  with  them  to 
the  shore.  Two  men  were  seated  in  it, 
one  at  the  bow  and  the  other  in  the  stern. 
They  were  bolt  npright,  with  their  hands 
upon  their  knees,  and  did  not  look  to- 
wards him.  On  going  closer  he  saw  that 
they  were  the  dwarfs  turned  into  stone. 
The  boat  was  filled  with  sacks  of  bear  skin, 
in  which  was  treasure  such  as  the  ma- 
gician had  never  before  seen  or  imagined. 

As  he  was  about  to  take  some  of  it 
away,  the  dwarf  whose  fingers  he  had 
bitten  off,  spoke  to  him  and  said :  ^ '  In 
this  manner  the  canoes  of  your  people 
shall  be  loaded  as  they  go  past  these 
shores,  and  no  enemy  shall  be  able  to  rob 
them." 

The  magician  took  the  statues  to  his 
wigwam  and  afterwards  they  were  set  up 
in  the  sacred  lodge  of  the  tribe,  the  white 
canoe  being  placed  between  them. 

Many  chiefs  wished  to  give  the  Prince 
of  Wampum  their  daughters  in  marriage, 
but  he  chose  a  star  maiden,  and  they 
went  to  live  in  the  fields  of  the  sky,  near 
the  white,  misty  road  of  the  dead. 


«^> 


%^ 


11 


%       ^^ 


"  Near  the  white,  misty  roaxi  of  the  dead." 


a» 


\ 


TURTLE-DOVE,  SAGE-COCK,  AND 
THE  WITCH. 


\m. 


IJn. 


/r^M'^^W 


%(S^^ 


ifliiiM^ 


^V^ 


TURTLE-DOVE,    SAGE-COCK,    AND 
THE  WITCH. 

URTLE-DOYE  was  a 
widow  with  two  chil- 
dren— Yellow-bird,  a 
girl  eleven  years  of 
age,  and  Sage-cock,  a 
baby  boy.  The  girl 
was  big,  awkward  and 
stupid;  but  the  boy, 
though  only  a  baby,  gave  signs  of  being  a 
remarkably  bright  child. 

Turtle-dove  was  always  anxious  about 
him,  for  an  old  witch  who  lived  in  that 
part  of  the  country  stole  every  little  boy 
that  she  could  find. 

One  day  Turtle-dove  went  down  to  the 
valley  to  gather  seeds  and  herbs.  She 
carried  her  baby  on  her  back,  but  he  was 
heavy,  and  after  a  time  she  grew  tired 
from  the  weight  and  constant  stooping. 
So  she  took  the  baby  and  laid  him  under 
a  sage-brush,  telling  his  sister  to  watch 
him. 

Presently  the  old  witcji  came  that  way, 
and  going  up  to  the  bundle,  felt  it  all  over, 
and  asked  Yellow-bird  what  it  contained. 


Ki 


j:-:"^^ 


136 


American  Indian  Tales 


'^It  is  my  sister,"  said  slie,  for  she 
tliought  the  witch  would  not  want  to  steal 
a  girl. 

Then  the  old  witch  scolded  her,  grow- 
ing more  and  more  loud  and  angry  in  her 
speech  and  manner  until  her  eyes  stood 
out,  glaring  at  the  girl,  and  her  grizzled 
locks  rattled  like  the  naked  branches  of 
the  trees.  Yellow-bird  grew  cold  as  ice 
and  could  not  even  scream,  she  was  so 
frightened. 

The  old  witch,  seeing  that  she  was  not 
likely  to  be  attacked,  seized  the  little 
pappoose  and  flew  away  with  him  on  her 
bat-like  wings  to  the  distant  mountain, 
which  no  man  can  climb  by  reason  of  the 
rattlesnake  forest  at  its  base. 

When  she  reached  her  den,  which  was 
a  hollow  place  black  with  cinders  and 
hidden  from  sight  by  a  clump  of  hemlock 
trees,  she  laid  the  boy  on  the  ground, 
broke  the  strips  of  deer  skin  that  held 
his  fur  blanket  over  him  and  stretched 
his  legs  till  he  became  a  man. 

'^  Now,"  said  she,  ''I  shall  have  a  hus- 
band." 

Although  Sage-cock  had  suddenly 
grown  to  a  man's  size,  he  had  only  a 
baby's  heart  and  knew  no  better  than 
to  marry  an  ugly  old  witch. 


M 


r< 


.<!^  «"'•-"> 


''■^\ 


1  :y-' 


NW 


X) 


Sage-Cock  and  the  Witch 


When  Turtle-dove  returned  and  heard 
Yellow-bird's  story  she  was  very  angry 
and  would  not  forgive  the  girl  for  not 
calling  her.  She  spent  day  after  day 
searching  among  the  rocks  and  wherever 
a  wild  beast  or  a  witch  might  have  a 
hiding-place.  She  left  no  clump  of  bush- 
es, however  small,  unexplored,  but  all  to 
no  purpose.  At  last  she  went  to  her 
brother,  the  Eagle,  and  told  him  her 
story. 

Eagle  was  keen  of  sight  and  a  swift 
hunter.  He  put  on  his  war  feathers  and 
his  war  paint  and  set  out  in  search  of  the 

boy.  . 

One  day  he  heard  a  baby  crying,  but 
he  did  not  recognize  its  voice.  He  told 
his  sister,  and  she  begged  him  to  take  her 
to  the  place,  for  she  felt  sure  that  she 
would  know  the  child's  voice  and  he 
would  know  hers. 

They  went  towards  the  witch's  moun- 
tain. Before  they  reached  it  they  heard 
the  child  cry ;  but  did  not  know  how  to 
get  to  him  because    of  the  rattlesnake 

Eagle  thought  he  would  try  his  magic, 
for  he  was  one  of  the  wizards  of  the 
tribe.  He  took  two  feathers  from  his 
head  dress    and  spread   them  out  into 


VA^-^j 


f 


"^it 


i% 


138 


American  Indian  Tales 


wings,  wMch  he  fastened  upon  his 
shoulders.  He  then  placed  Turtle  Dove 
on  his  back  and  flew  with  her  over  the 
forest  oi    rttlesnakes. 

He  hid  i  some  bushes  while  the  mother 
called,  ^^  Sage-cock,  Sage-cock." 

The  child  cried  and  strove  to  get  out  of 
the  den.  He  did  struggle  through  the 
bushes,  but  the  witch  caught  him.  Then 
with  one  blow  of  her  stick  she  killed  a 
mountain  sheep  near  by,  and  taking  the 
boy  in  her  arms,  jumped  into  its  stomach. 
She  pulled  the  wool  about  them  and  lay 
very  still. 

Meanwhile  Eagle  killed  a  rabbit  and 
put  it  on  the  top  of  a  tall  pine  tree,  then 
peeled  the  bark  so  that  it  would  be  hard 
to  climb.  They  watched  for  days  but 
with  no  success. 

At  last  the  old  woman  grew  hungry, 
and  Sage-cock  cried  for  food.  So  she 
crept  out,  and  seeing  the  rabbit,  tried  to 
get  it. 

When  Eagle  saw  her  he  knew  that  the 
baby  could  not  be  far  off.  He  stretched 
himself  full  length  on  the  ground  and 
listened,  with  his  ear  to  the  earth. 

First  he  heard  a  faint  cry  which  seemed 
to  come  from  the  sheep,  then,  as  he  went 
nearer,  he  heard  the  boy's  heart  thump- 


I 


Sage-Cock  and  the  Witch      139 


ing  and  knew  just  where  to  go.  He  found 
the  baby,  caught  him  up  in  his  arms  and 
ran  quickly  with  him  down  to  thf  r^ge  of 
the  rattlesnake  forest. 

Knowing  the  old  witch  wou^d  follow 
him,  he  raised  a  great  snow-storm,  that 
covered  all  his  tracks,  so  that  she  should 
not  know  in  what  direction  he  had  gone. 

But  in  his  haste  he  dropped  two  eagle's 
feathers,  and  the  witch  knew  at  once  who 
had  stolen  her  husband.  She  went  to  her 
brother,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  rattle- 
snakes, and  asked  him  to  take  her  part. 
He  hated  her,  for  she  was  always  getting 
him  into  trouble ;  but  she  was  his  sister, 
and  he  could  not  refuse. 

Just  then.  Eagle's  war-whoop  was 
heard ;  and,  having  no  place  in  which  to 
hide  her,  he  opened  his  mouth,  and  let 
her  jump  down  his  throat.  She  would 
not  be  still  and  bothered  him  so  much  that 
after  Eagle  had  passed  he  tried  to  throw 
her  off.  But  he  could  not  rid  himself  of 
her,  and  at  last  he  wrenched  himself  so 
hard  that  he  jumped  out  of  his  own 
skin. 

The  witch  still  lives  in  itand  rolls  about 
among  the  rocks  to  this  day,  mocking  all 
who  pass,  though  no  one  can  ever  lay  hold 
of  her.     The  Pale-faces  call  her  Echo. 


■J 


r':) 


\-\^-^'^'^'-^^^- 


f^       f*o< 


'•l^ 


,fp^"^ 


^a  f. 


140        Ameeican  Indiat^  Tales 

Sage-cock  became  a  little  boy  again  and     ^' 
grew  to  be  a  mighty  chief,  succeeding  Ms 
uncle,  the  Eagle,  as  a  warrior  and  magic- 
ian. 


Kf 


^'i-rj^'"^*  ",., 


,;t    ^ 


1% 


*«* 


«:<fe 


n- 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SKELETONS. 


■^^^ 


'""fc 


\  i^'^ 


.>>f^ 


fuMS^g^* 


liii 


"^V, 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SKELETONS. 


IG  Wave  and  his  little 
nephew,  Ked  Shell, 
lived  together  in  a  deep 
forest.  The  boy  was 
the  only  relative  that 
the  old  man  had,  and 
he  was  very  fond  of 
him.  He  had  brought 
Red  Shell  and  his  sister,  Wild  Sage,  to 
his  home  some  years  before,  just  after  the 
great  plague  had  killed  most  of  his  tribe, 
among  them  the  father  and  mother  of  the 
children.  But  they  had  not  been  many 
months  in  the  forest  before  Wild  Sage 
was  stolen  by  a  giant  who  lived  on  the 
Island  of  Skeletons. 

Big  Wave  warned  the  boy  never  to  go 
towards  the  east ;  for,  if  by  any  chance, 
he  should  cross  a  certain  magic  line  of 
sacred  meal  that  Big  Wave  had  drawn, 
he  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  giant. 

The  boy  obeyed  for  a  time ;  but  by  and 
by  he  grew  tired  of  playing  in  one  place, 
so  he  went  towards  the  east,  not  noticing 
when  he  crossed  the  magic  line,  till  he 
came  to  the  shore  of  a  great  lake. 

143 


^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


He  amused  himself  for  a  while,  throw- 
ing pebbles  into  the  water,  and  shooting 
arrows.  A  man  came  up  to  him,  and 
said,  *' Well,  boy,  where  is  your  lodge?  " 

Red  Shell  told  him.  Then  the  man 
proposed  shooting  arrows  to  see  who 
could  shoot  the  higher.  Red  Shell  had 
had  much  practice,  and  though  he  was 
only  a  boy,  his  arm  was  strong,  and  he 
drew  the  bow  far  back  and  sent  the  arrow 
much  higher  than  the  man  did. 

The  man  laughed  and  said,  ' '  You  are 
a  brave  boy ;  now  let  us  see  whether  you 
can  swim  as  well  as  you  can  shoot. ' ' 

They  jumped  into  the  water  and  tried 
holding  their  breath  while  swimming. 
Again  the  boy  proved  himself  the 
victor. 

When  they  were  again  on  land,  the 
man  said  to  him,  ' '  Will  you  go  with  me 
in  my  canoe?  I  am  on  my  way  to  an 
island  where  there  are  pretty  birds,  and 
you  can  shoot  as  many  as  you  please. ' ' 

Red  Shell  said  he  would  go,  and  looked 
about  for  a  canoe.  The  man  began  sing- 
ing, and  presently  there  appeared  a  canoe 
drawn  by  six  white  swans,  three  on  either 
side.  The  boy  and  his  companion  stepped 
in  and  the  man  guided  the  swans  by 
singing. 


^S5r::a 


v«?.* 


"^.•^ 


^-tfjCw^sw 


.i_^ 


t' 


Av  r .  -, 


The  Island  of  Skeletons      145 


0 


The  island  was  so  long  that  lie  could 
not  see  tlie  end  of  it,  but  it  was  not  very- 
wide.  It  was  thickly  wooded  and  there 
was  so  much  undergrowth  that  the  ground 
could  hardly  be  seen,  but  Red  Shell  no- 
ticed heaps  of  bones  under  the  bushes, 
and  asked  what  they  were.  He  was  told 
that  the  island  had  once  been  a  famous 
hunting-ground  and  these  were  the  bones 
of  the  animals  that  had  been  killed. 

After  wandering  about  for  some  time, 
the  man  proposed  another  swim.  They 
had  been  in  the  water  but  a  few  minutes 
when  the  boy  heard  singing,  and  looking 
around  he  saw  the  man  going  off  in  the 
canoe  and  taking  his  own  and  Red  Shell's 
clothes  with  him.  He  shouted,  but 
neither  the  man  nor  the  birds  paid  any 
attention  to  him. 

Thus  he  was  left  alone  and  naked,  and 
it  was  fast  growing  dark.  Then  he  re- 
membered his  uncle's  warnings,  and  was 
so  miserable  from  cold,  hunger  and  fear, 
that  at  last  he  sat  down  and  cried. 

By-and-by  he  heard  a  voice  calling  to 
him,  "Hist!  keep  still." 

He  looked  round  and  saw  a  skeleton 
lying  on  the  ground  not  far  from  him. 
It  beckoned  to  him  and  said,  ' '  Poor  boy, 
it  was  the  same  with  me,  but  I  will  help 


"% 


/4^'    ~"^ 


^««c»«; 


N«r^ 


1^ 

146        American  Indian  Tales 

you  if  you  will  do  me  a  service.  Go  to 
that  tree ' '  (j)oirLting  to  one  close  by)  ' '  dig 
on  the  west  side  of  it,  and  you  will  find  a 
pouch  of  smoking  mixture  and  a  pipe. 
Bring  them  to  me.  You  can  get  a  flint 
on  the  shore.     Bring  that  also. " 

The  boy  was  terribly  frightened,  but 
the  skeleton  spoke  kindly,  and  not  as 
though  he  meant  to  do  harm.  Red  Shell 
therefore  went  to  the  tree,  and  brought 
the  pipe  and  smoking  mixture.  Then  he 
found  a  flint  and  on  being  asked  to  do 
so  struck  fire,  lit  the  pipe  and  handed 
the  same  to  the  skeleton. 

It  smoked  quickly,  drawing  the  smoke 
into  the  mouth  and  letting  it  escape  be- 
tween the  ribs.  Red  Shell  watched  and 
saw  mice  run  out  from  between  the 
bones.  When  the  skeleton  was  rid  of 
them  it  said :  ' '  Now  I  feel  better,  and 
can  tell  you  what  to  do  to  escape  my  fate. 
A  giant  is  coming  to-night  with  three 
dogs,  to  hunt  you  and  kill  you  for  his 
supper.  You  must  lose  the  trail  for  them 
by  jumping  into  the  water  many  times  on 
your  way  to  a  hollow  tree,  which  you  will 
find  on  the  other  side  of  the  island.  In 
the  morning  after  they  have  gone,  come 
to  me." 

Red   Shell  thanked  the  skeleton  and 


W 


s'p 


W^ 


A 


\ 


\ 


The  Island  of  Skeletons      147 

started  at  once  to  find  the  tree.  It  was 
quite  dark,  so  lie  could  see  nothing,  but 
he  ran  from  tree  to  tree,  climbing  half- 
way up  each  one,  and  running  into  the 
water  many  times  before  he  found  the 
place  where  he  had  been  told  to  sleep. 

Towards  morning  he  heard  the  splash 
of  a  canoe  in  the  water,  and  soon  a  giant 
followed  by  three  large  dogs,  strode  into 
the  forest. 

"You  must  hunt  this  animal,"  the 
giant  said  to  the  dogs. 

They  scented  the  trail  and  dashed 
through  the  bushes.  They  rushed  up 
one  tree  and  then  another,  and  at  last 
came  back  to  the  giant  with  their  tails 
between  their  legs,  for  they  had  found 
nothing. 

He  was  so  angry  that  he  struck  the  fore- 
most animal  with  his  war-club  and  killed 
it  on  the  spot.  He  skinned  it  and  ate  it 
raw.  Then  he  drove  the  two  others  down 
to  the  canoe,  jumped  in  and  went  away. 

When  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the 
island.  Red  Shell  crept  from  his  hiding 
place  and  went  back  to  the  skeleton. 

''You  are  still  alive?  "^  it  asked  in  sur- 
prise. "  You  are  a  brave  boy.  To-night 
the  man  who  brought  you  here  will  come 
to    drink    your    blood.     You    must    go 


V-vAr 


-Xig-=^^ 


Amekican  Indian  Tales 


down  to  the  sliore  before  tlie  darkness 
conies  and  dig  a  pit  in  the  sand.  Lie 
down  in  it  and  cover  yourself  with  sand. 
When  he  leaves  his  canoe,  get  into  it  and 
say  'Come  swans,  let  us  go  home.'  If 
the  man  calls  you,  you  must  not  turn 
round  or  look  at  him.  When  you  are 
free,  do  not  forget  the  skeleton." 

Red  Shell  promised  to  come  back  to 
the  island  and  to  do  all  that  he  could  for 
the  poor  bones.  He  went  down  to  the 
shore  and  dug  the  pit  deep  enough  so 
that  when  he  stood  in  it  his  head  was  on 
a  level  with  the  water.  When  he  heard 
the  song  in  the  distance  he  knew  the 
swans  were  coming;  so  he  covered  his 
head  with  sand  and  waited  till  he  heard 
a  footstep  on  the  dry  leaves. 

Then  he  crept  out  stealthily,  stepped 
into  the  canoe  and  whispered  to  the 
swans,  "Come,  let  us  go  home."  He 
began  the  song  that  he  had  heard  their 
master  sing  to  them,  and  the  canoe  glided 
from  the  shore. 

The  swans  carried  him  down  the  lake 
to  a  large  cleft  rock  in  the  center.  They 
drew  the  canoe  through  the  opening  and 
through  the  cave  till  they  came  to  a 
stone  door.  Eed  Shell  tried  to  open  it, 
but  could  not.     Then  he  turned  the  canoe 


i\ 


Hf-C    %AA^...^,i^     lt^f~ 


"  Whispered  to  the  Swans,  '  Come,  let  us  go  home.' " 


The  Island  of  Skeletons       149 


around 
stern. 
The  door 


struck  tlie    door   with 


open  and    Red    Shell 


I 


found  himself  in  a  line  lodge.  He  saw 
his  own  clothes  and  many  others  heaped 
in  a  corner  near  the  fire  which  was  burn- 
ing brightly.  A  kettle  of  soup  was 
steaming  over  it  and  there  were  some 
potatoes  in  the  ashes  on  the  hearth. 

Seeing  no  one,  the  boy  ate  supper  and 
then  lay  down  to  sleep  on  a  couch  of 
wild-cat  skins. 

In  the  morning  he  went  out  and  step- 
ping into  the  canoe,  said,  "  Come,  swans, 
let  us  go  to  the  island." 

He  saw  the  two  dogs  lying  asleep  in 
the  sun  and,  on  landing,  found  that  the 
had  killed  their  master. 

The  skeleton  was  delighted  to  see  him 
and  praised  him  for  his  courage  and  for 
being  true  to  his  word.  But  he  said  to 
him,  "You  must  not  go  home  yet. 
Travel  toward  the  east  three  days  and 
you  will  come  to  some  huge  rocks.  There 
you  will  see  a  young  girl  drawing  water 
from  a  spring.  She  is  your  sister.  Wild 
Sage,  whom  the  giant  ^tole  many  moons 
since,  and  whom  you  believed  dead.  You 
will  be  able  to  get  her  away.  When  you 
■'^  have  done  so,  come  back  to  me."" 


150       Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


L*5^ 


Red  Shell  at  once  set  out  for  the  east 
and  in  three  days  he  found  the  rocks  of 
which  he  had  been  told.  As  he  came 
near  them  he  saw  a  lovely  girl  drawing 
water.  ''Sister,"  he  said,  going  up  to 
her,  "  yon  must  come  home  with  me." 

She  was  frightened  and  tried  to  run 
away.  Looking  back,  she  saw  that  it 
was  really  her  brother,  when  she  was 
even  more  afraid,  though  she  turned  and 
spoke  to  him.  "Hist,"  said  she,  ''a 
giant  keeps  me  here.  Go  before  he  sees 
you  or  he  will  kill  you." 

Red  Shell  did  not  move. 

"Go,"  said  Wild  Sage. 

"No,"  he  answered,  "not  till  you  go 
with  me.     Take  me  to  your  lodge. ' ' 

The  giant  had  gone  to  a  cranberry 
swamp,  and  Wild  Sage  knew  that  he 
would  not  return  until  the  evening;  so 
she  ventured  to  take  her  brother  home 
with  her.  She  dug  a  pit  in  one  corner  of 
the  lodge,  told  him  to  get  into  it,  and 
then  covered  it  with  her  bed  of  buffalo 
skins. 

Just  before  the  darkness  came  the 
giant's  dogs  rushed  in,  barking  furiously. 

"Who?"  said  the  giant,  "is  hidden 
here  ? ' ' 

"No  one,"  said  Wild  Sage. 


« 


ir« 


The  Island  of  Skeletons      151 

''There  is,  there  is,"  said  the  giant, 
*'or  the  dogs  would  not  bark  like  that." 

They  did  not  discover  Red  Shell,  how- 
ever, so  the  giant  sat  down  to  his  supper. 

''This  boy  is  not  tender,  he  is  not 
cooked  enough,  get  up  and  cook  him 
more,"  said  the  giant. 

"Cook  it  yourself,  if  it  doesn't  suit 
you,"  she  answered. 

The  giant  took  no  notice  of  her  an- 
swer, but  called  to  her  to  come  and  take 
off  his  moccasins. 

"Take  them  off  yourself,"  she  said. 

"Kaw,"  thought  the  giant,  "now  I 
know  she  has  some  one  hidden.  I  will 
kill  him  in  the  morning. ' ' 

Early  the  next  day  the  giant  said  he 
was  going  to  the  cranberry  swamp  to  get 
some  children  for  his  dinner.  He  did  not 
go  far  from  the  lodge,  but  hid  himself  in 
some  bushes  close  to  the  shore. 

He  saw  Wild  Sage  and  her  brother  get 
into  a  canoe,  and  threw  a  hook  after 
them,  which  caught  the  boat  and  drew  it 
towards  the  shore.  But  Red  Shell  took 
up  a  stone  and  broke  the  hook,  and  they 
floated  off  once  more. 

The  giant  was  in  a  terrible  rage.  He 
lay  down  flat  on  the  ground,  and,  putting 
his  mouth  to  the  water,   drank  so  fast 


-A(^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


tliat  the  canoe  was  drawn  close  to  the 
shore  He  began  to  swell  from  drinking 
such  a  quantity,  and  could  not  move.  Red 
Shell  took  another  stone  and  threw  it  at 
him.  It  struck  him  and  he  snapped  in 
two,  and  the  water  he  had  swallowed 
flowed  back  into  the  lake. 

Red  Shell  and  his  sister  then  sailed  to 
the  island,  where  the  two  dogs  who  had 
eaten  their  master  rushed  down  to  meet 
them.  The  boy  raised  his  hand  threaten- 
ingly, and  said:  ''Off  to  the  woods  as 
wolves.  You  no  longer  deserve  to  be 
dogs." 

The  animals  slunk  away  growling,  and 
as  they  disappeared  were  seen  to  change 
into  lean  and  hungry  wolves. 

Red  Shell  went  to  the  skeleton,  who 
commanded  him  to  gather  all  the  bones 
that  he  could  find  on  the  island  and  to 
lay  them  side  by  side  in  one  place.  Then 
he  was  to  say  to  them,  ' '  Dead  folk, 
arise !  ' ' 

It  took  him  and  his  sister  many  days, 
for  there  were  bones  everywhere.  When 
all  had  been  arranged  in  one  place.  Red 
Shell  stood  off  at  a  little  distance  and 
called  loudly,  "Dead  folk,  arise  !  "  The 
bones  raised  themselves  and  took  human 
form.     All  the  men  had  bows  and  ar- 


The  Island  of  Skeletons      153 


rows,  but  some  had  only  one  arm,  an(J 
others  only  one  leg.  The  skeleton 
whom  Red  Shell  had  first  met  became  a 
tall,  handsome  warrior,  perfect  in  every 
limb.  He  saluted  Red  Shell  as  Chief, 
and  the  others  did  the  same. 

Then  the  boy  and  his  sister  crossed  the 
lake  and  traveled  westward  till  they 
came  to  their  uncles'  lodge.  He  was 
very  old,  his  fire  was  out  and  he  was 
still  mourning  for  his  nephew.  But  as 
he  listened  to  the  story  of  the  lad's  ad- 
ventures, and  realized  that  he  had  come 
back  unhurt,  some  of  his  years  left  him. 

They  built  a  long  lodge  with  many 
fireplaces;  then  Red  Shell  returned  to 
the  island  and  brought  back  those  who 
had  been  skeletons.  The  handsome  brave, 
who  was  known  as  White  Eagle,  married 
Wild  Sage,  and  they  all  dwelt  together 
in  peace  to  the  end  of  their  lives. 


^"^^W-f^ 


^ 

^f 


STONE-SHIRT  AND  THE  ONE-TWO. 


Vv^s-- 


»«li« 


STONE-SHIRT  AND  THE  ONE-TWO. 

TONE- SHIRT  was  a  ter- 
rible giant  who  wore  a 
sMrt  of   shells   so  fas- 
tened   that    no    arrow 
could    pierce    it.      He 
lived    with    his    three 
daughters  on  the  shore 
of  the  Big  Sea  Water. 
His  daughters  were  not  bad  or  hard- 
hearted, but  they  were  forced  to  do  all 
sorts  of  evil  to  protect  their  father.    They 
had  magic  arrows  which  went  wherever 
they  wished  and  found  their  way  straight 
to  the  hearts  of  their  enemies,  though  shot 
without  aim. 

Stone-shirt,  while  out  hunting  one  day, 
saw  a  beautiful  woman  gathering  flags. 
''Who  are  you?  "  said  he  to  her. 

She  was  afraid  of  him,  and  said  ' '  I  am 

Spear-mint." 

:^  ''You    are    not,"    roared    the    giant, 

Jiwi^"you  are  Mouse,  the  wife  of  the  Crane. 

j?^    I  will  kill  him  and^  you  shall  live  with 

\V^T-    j^Q      YiAW  your  child  before  I  return  or  I 

will    dash    him    to  pieces    before  your 

eyes  *" 


Jik 


L*3A. 


158        American  Indian  Tales 

Mouse  picked  up  tlie  boy,  and  as  soon 
as  the  giant  was  out  of  sight  she  ran 
quickly  with  it  to  its  grandmother's. 
Then  she  went  back  and  smeared  the 
stones  with  the  blood  of  some  fresh  bear's 
meat  which  she  threw  into  the  lake. 

She  could  not  warn  her  husband,  for 
he  had  gone  hunting  soon  after  sunrise, 
and  she  did  not  know  which  way  he  went 
or  when  he  would  be  likely  to  return. 
Search  as  she  might  there  was  no  escape. 

The  giant  was  not  long  gone,  and  when 
he  returned  he  carried  the  scalp  of  the 
Crane,  whom  he  had  met  on  the  way  back 
to  his  wigwam.  Seizing  Mouse  by  the 
hair,  he  shook  the  scalp  in  her  face,  and 
then  dragged  her  through  the  forest. 

The  deer  had  shed  his  horns  many 
times  when  the  baby  boy,  now  grown  to 
be  a  fine  lad,  went  with  his  grandmother 
to  dig  flag-roots.  They  took  a  sharp  flint 
knife  with  which  to  cut  the  ground,  for 
the  roots  are  hard  to  pull. 

When  they  had  been  some  time  in  the 
swamp,  they  found  that  the  roots  came 
up  easily  and  then  more  easily  till  at  last 
they  had  only  to  take  hold  of  a  flag  to 
have  it  at  once  loosened  from  the  earth. 
The  old  woman  said,  ' '  Surely  something 
strange  is  going  to  happen.     Let  us  go 


Stone- Shirt  and  the  One-Two  159 


home,  I  do  not  care  to  dig  any  more  to- 
day." 

The  boy  took  an  armful  of  flags  to  the 
place  where  he  had  put  the  others,  but 
the  pile  was  gone.  He  called  to  his 
grandmother  and  asked  her  if  she  had 
moved  the  roots. 

* '  No,  my  child, ' '  said  she,  ' '  perhaps 
some  giant  has  stolen  them,  let  us  go 
home." 

The  boy  looked  around  and  soon  spied  a 
man  sitting  under  a  tree  not  far  off.  He  felt 
sure  it  was  he  who  had  stolen  the  flags, 
and  taking  up  some  small  stones,  threw 
them  at  him,  calling  him, ' '  Thief,  coward. ' ' 

The  man  did  not  move.  At  last  a  stone 
larger  than  the  others  struck  his  leg  and 
broke  it.  He  lifted  up  the  leg,  bound  it 
tightly  with  a  strip  torn  from  his  coat  and 
again  sat  down  under  the  tree.  Then  he 
beckoned  to  the  boy,  and  pointing  to  some 
bones  in  front  of  him,  asked :  ' '  What 
bones  are  these  ?  ' ' 

The  boy  answered  promptly,  ''Elk  or 
deer." 

''No,"  said  the  man,"  these  are  the 
bones  of  your  father.  Has  not  the  old 
woman  told  you  how  he  was  killed  by 
Stone-shirt  and  his  bones  left  to  rot  like 
those  of  the  wolf?" 


€3i> 


f 


.^^ 


/5? 


160       American  Indian  Tales 

''  No,"  said  the  boy. 

''  Has  she  not  told  you  of  your  mother 


whom  Stone-shirt  carried  off?" 

'  No, ' '  said  the  lad  again ;  but  the  man 
saw  he  would  fight  the  giant,  so  he  said 
no  more,  but  disappeared  as  suddenly  as 
he  had  come. 

The  boy  went  back  to  his  grandmother 
and  told  her  what  he  had  heard.  She 
knew  at  once  that  he  must  have  seen  a 
spirit.  When  the  boy  blamed  her  for 
keeping  the  story  of  his  father's  death  a 
secret,  she  cried  and  said,  "You  are  my 
only  hope.  If  you  go  to  fight  Stone-shirt, 
he  will  kill  you  and  I  shall  be  alone. ' ' 

The  boy  made  no  answer,  but  went  and 
lay  down  on  his  couch  of  skins,  for  he 
felt  a  heavy  sleep  coming  over  him.  He 
slept  three  days  and  three  nights.  When 
he  awoke  he  refused  food  and  said  :  ' '  I 
am  going  to  all  nations  to  enlist  warriors 
in  my  cause,"  and  passed  out  of  the  wig- 
wam. 

The  boy  was  tall  and  well-formed,  and 
while  he  slept  he  had  taken  on  the  face 
of  a  young  man.  He  traveled  many 
moons,  and  wherever  he  went  the  chiefs 
listened  to  him,  and  the  young  men  of 
the  different  tribes  took  up  their  bows 
and  arrows  and  declared  themselves  ready 


r^c^cif  cxaoobo  «»onp««0^pOMaqBcii**orv^ -' -^^  o  ",>  "^  * 


-^^T^-^^^-^ 


i 


"  Instead  of  one  handsome  young  warrior,  there  were  two. 


rf^"^ 


Stone-Shirt  and  the  One-Two  161 


Among  tliem  were  two 
Wolf    and    the   Rattle- 


to  follow  him. 
magicians,  the 
snake. 

These  two  went  with  him  some  dis- 
tance, and  the  three  entered  his  grand- 
mother's wigwam.  After  they  had  eaten 
a  meal  which  the  old  woman  gladly  pre- 
pared for  them,  the  young  man  took  a 
stone  axe  and  handing  it  to  her  asked 
her  to  cut  him  in  two. 

She  refused,  but  he  persisted,  and  at 
last  commanded  her  to  do  as  he  said,  and 
in  such  a  tone  that  she  dared  not  dis- 
obey. 

She  struck  the  blow  tremblingly,  hit- 
ting the  red  deer's  tail  that  he  wore,  when 
lo  1  each  half  of  his  body  took  form,  and 
instead  of  one  handsome  young  warrior, 
there  were  two  who  were  so  much  alike 
that  one  could  not  be  distinguished  from 
the  other. 

The  One-Two,  as  they  called  themselves, 
went  out  to  meet  the  people  who  were 
now  advancing  through  the  forest.  The 
number  of  them  was  so  great  that  it  was 
a  day's  march  from  the  foremost  men  to 
those  at  the  end  of  the  trail. 

Their  way  lay  through  a  barren  place, 
and  they  traveled  all  day  without  seeing 
trees  or  water.     The  next  morning  they 


►••»••" 


c 


^•01 


162       American  Indian  Tales 

began  to  grumble,  for  they  suffered  from 
tMrst.  As  tlie  day  wore  on  tliey  grum- 
bled more  and  more  and  began  to  threaten 
the  One-Two,  though  no  one  had  been 
compelled  to  follow. 

The  Rattlesnake,  who  had  much  wis- 
dom, said,  * '  One-Two,  now  is  the  time  to 
bring  out  your  magic  cup." 

This  cup  was  a  large  bowl  of  polished 
bass-wood.  It  could  be  held  in  the  hand, 
and  yet  when  one  looked  inside  it  one 
could  not  see  the  bottom.  One-Two  had 
received  it  from  a  magician  when  he  first 
set  out  on  his  journey.  He  had  sealed  it 
as  he  had  been  told,  with  a  water-lily  leaf 
and  the  balsam  of  the  fir,  and  kept  it  to 
use  when  in  great  distress. 

The  brothers  consulted  together  and 
decided  to  take  the  Rattlesnake's  advice. 
They  handed  the  cup  from  one  to  an- 
other. As  soon  as  one  had  taken  all  that 
he  wanted,  even  to  what  might  have  been 
half  that  it  held,  the  cup  was  full  again. 
But  before  it  could  be  passed  to  the 
"Wolf  he  was  dead. 

Then  the  people  grumbled  again, 
for  the  Wolf  was  brave  and  gave 
them  courage.  The  brothers  paid  no 
attention  to  the  complaints;  but  one 
held  the  cup  while  the  other  took  some 


*^^^-^-#' 


n 


* 


I 


Stone-Shirt  and  the  One-Two  163 

water  from  it  and  with  it  lie  sprinkled 
the  Wolf. 

Wolf  arose  and  cried :  ^  'Why  did  you 
disturb  me?  I  was  having  such  pleasant 
dreams." 

They  gave  him  the  cup  and  he  drank 
all  that  there  was  in  it ;  but  when  he 
handed  it  to  the  brothers  it  did  not  refill. 

They  had  brought  but  little  food  with 
them,  and  no  animals  crossed  their  path 
in  the  barren  place ;  so  they  were  hungry, 
and  on  the  third  day  began  again  to 
grumble  and  to  accuse  the  brothers. 

The  One-Two  said  nothing,  but  to- 
wards evening  they  said  to  the  Wolf, 
who  was  keen  of  sight  and  of  scent,  "Is 
not  that  an  antelope  in  the  distance?" 

''Yes,"  said  the  Wolf,  "  but  it  is  the 
goat  with  many  eyes,  the  watchman  of 
Stone-shirt.  Nevertheless  I  will  go  and 
kill  it." 

Then  the  Rattlesnake  said,  "Let  me 
go,  for  the  antelope  will  see  you  and  will 
run  away." 

But  the  One-Two  sent  the  Wolf,  for 
they  knew  him  to  be  the  braver.  He 
started  at  once,  going'  in  and  out  so  as  to 
hide  in  the  bushes. 

After  he  had  gone,  the  Rattlesnake  said 
to  the  brothers,  "  Do  you  see  me?" 


.  w^ 


164       Ameeican  IiN^DiAN  Tales 

' '  No, ' '  was  the  answer,  and  they  be- 
gan to  search  for  him.  They  looked  in 
vain  till  the  Rattlesnake  chose  to  show 
himself,  although  they  were  standing  in 
an  open  space  where  there  was  no  place 
for  him  to  hide. 

The  Rattlesnake  again  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed to  hunt  the  antelope.  The  brothers 
told  him  he  might  go,  and  in  a  few  hours 
he  returned  with  the  game  on  his  shoul- 
ders. 

The  Wolf  saw  him  as  he  passed,  and  at 
first  was  very  angry,  but  afterwards  he 
said  to  himself,  "What  does  it  matter, 
so  long  as  the  people  get  food?" 
^:2^^^  Again  they  were  without  water ;  so  the 
;>^  -  One-Two  changed  themselves  into  doves, 
took  the  magic  cup  and  flew  with  it  to- 
wards the  lodge  of  Stone -shirt,  which  they 
knew  was  on  the  edge  of  a  lake. 

The  daughters  of  Stone- shirt  bathed  in 
the  lake  every  morning ;  and  having  been 
annoyed  by  birds  peeping  at  them  from 
the  bushes,  they  set  a  snare  for  them. 

The  One-Two,  knowing  nothing  of  this, 
were  caught,  and  the  maidens  carried 
them  to  a  lodge.  Stone-shirt  looked  at 
them  with  suspicion,  for  he  knew  no 
such  birds  lived  thereabouts,  and  he 
feared    they    were    spies.      His    daugh- 


Stone-Shirt  and  the  One-Two  165 

ters,  however,  persuaded  him  not  to  kill 
them.  They  stroked  them  and  fed  them 
and  in  the  morning  let  them  fly  away. 

The  brothers  went  back  to  the  bushes 
where  they  had  dropped  the  cup,  filled  it 
and  flew  with  it  to  their  camp. 

The  next  day  they  ventured  near 
Stone -shirt's  lodge  in  their  natural  form. 
This  time  they  saw  their  mother.  She 
did  not  believe  their  story  at  first,  for  she 
had  left  only  one  child.  But  when  they 
explained  how  everything  had  happened, 
she  begged  them  not  to  fight  Stone- shirt, 
and  told  them  about  his  armor  and  his 
daughters'  arrows. 

But  they  could  not  be  persuaded. 
They  told  her  they  would  surely  fight  the 
giant  the  next  day,  and  warned  her  not  to 
go  down  to  the  lake  for  fear  she  might  be 
hit  by  a  stray  arrow. 

That  night  the  One-Two  disguised 
themselves  as  mice  and  crept  into  the 
wigwam  of  Stone-shirt,  where  they  nib- 
bled the  strings  of  all  his  bows.  The 
Rattlesnake  went  with  them  and  hid  him- 
self behind  a  rock  on  which  Stone-shirt 
sat  every  morning.  ^ 

When  the  giant  appeared  as  usual,  the 
Rattlesnake  bit  him.     He  leaped  high  in  ^ 
the  air  and  exclaimed, ' '  We  are  betrayed ! "    • 


'"h 


'> 


166       American  Indian  Tales 


His  daughters  seized  their  bows  and 
arrows,  but  found  them  useless,  as  the 
strings  had  been  gnawed. 

The  cry  of  Stone-shirt  had  roused  the 
warriors  who,  having  advanced  in  the 
night,  were  lying  in  ambush  near  his 
lodge.  They  let  fly  a  shower  of  arrows 
and  then  rushed  from  their  hiding-place. 

Both  the  maidens  were  struck;  and 
waving  their  hands  to  their  enemies  to 
fall  back,  they  sang  a  death-song  and  fell 
dead  across  the  path  that  led  to  the  lodge. 

One-Two  were  very  sorry,  for  the  maid- 
ens had  been  kind  to  them.  They  buried 
them  with  great  mourning;  but  the 
bones  of  Stone-shirt  were  left  to  rot  as  he 
had  left  those  of  their  father,  the  Crane. 


€i 


TI 


'?.V 


THE  GREAT  WIZARD. 


li; 


ur 


:  '^ 


■0 


'3 


/4^ 


5«ie 


i'sr>.' 


U^M 


r- 


THE  GREAT  WIZARD. 

AJSTGLED-HAIR,  son  of 
the  West- wind,  was  a 
giant  in  size  and  his 
face  was  as  black  as 
the  feathers  of  the 
crow.  His  hair  was  of 
twisted  snakes,  gray, 
black  and  spotted,  with 
an  adder  raising  its  copper- colored  head 
for  his  crown,  while  a  rattlesnake  spread 
itself  across  his  shoulders.  He  was  the 
greatest  of  all  wizards,  and  could  change 
himself  into  any  bird  or  beast  at  will, 
could  disguise  his  voice,  and  did  both 
good  and  evil  as  he  felt  inclined. 

He  lived  with  his  grandmother,  who 
had  been  thrown  from  the  moon  by  a 
jealous  rival.  Their  lodge  was  on  the 
edge  of  the  prairie  not  far  from  the  Big 
Sea  Water. 

He  himself  did  not  know  his  power 
until  one  day  while  playing  with  a  beau- 
tiful snake,  whose  colors  were  brighter 
than  any  of  those  upon  his  head,  he 
found  that  by  means  of  it  he  could  do 
He  had  caught  the  snake  and 

169 


'17 


rnii 


^^' 


«*3 

170        American  Ijs^diai^  Tales 

kept  it  in  a  bowl  of  water,  feeding  it 
every  day  on  birds  and  insects.  By 
cliance  lie  let  fall  some  seeds,  which  were 
turned  into  birds  as  they  touched  the 
water,  and  the  snake  greedily  devoured 
them.  Then  he  discovered  that  every- 
thing he  put  into  the  water  became  alive. 

He  went  to  the  swamp  where  he  had 
caught  the  snake,  for  others,  which  he 
put  into  the  bowl.  Happening  to  rub 
his  eyes  while  his  fingers  were  still  wet 
he  was  surprised  to  find  how  much  clearer  i 

things  at  a  distance  appeared.  I 

He    gathered    some    roots,   powdered  |., 

them,    and    put    them"  into   the    water.  | 

Then  he  took  a  little  of  the  water  into 
his  mouth  and  blew  it  out  in  spray  which  _ 

made  a  bright  light.     When  he  put  the  fl 

water  on  his  eyes  he  could  see  in  the  Ij^ 

dark.     By  bathing  his  body  with  it  he  ^  " 

could  pass  through  narrow  or  slippery 
places.  A  feather  dipped  into  it  would 
shoot  any  bird  at  which  it  was  aimed, 
and  would  enter  its  body  like  an  arrow. 

He  was  able  to  heal  wounds  and  sick- 
nesses and  to  conquer  all  his  enemies, 
but  for  all  this  he  was  a  bad  spirit  nearly 
all  his  life. 

His  father,  the  West-wind,  had  in- 
trusted Tangled  Hair's  brothers  with  the 


The  Great  Wizard 


171 


N 


care  of  three-fourths  of  the  earth,  the 
north,  the  south,  and  the  east ;  but  gave 
nothing  to  him,  the  youngest.  When  he 
was  old  enough  to  know  how  he  had 
been  slighted,  he  was  very  angry  and 
sought  to  fight  his  father. 

He  took  his  bearskin  mittens  and 
dipped  them  into  the  snake- water,  thereby 
making  them  strong  with  magic,  so  that  he 
could  break  off  great  boulders  by  merely 
striking  them .  He  chased  his  father  across 
the  mountains,  hurling  boulder  after 
boulder  at  him  until  he  drove  him  to  the 
very  edge  of  the  earth.  He  would  have 
killed  the  West- wind  if  he  had  dared,  but 
he  was  afraid  of  his  brothers,  who  were 
friendly  to  one  another,  and  he  knew  that 
he  could  not  stand  against  the  three. 
So  he  compelled  his  father  to  give  him 
power  over  serpents,  beasts  and  monsters 
of  all  kinds,  and  to  promise  him  a  place 
in  his  own  kingdom  after  he  should  have 
rid  the  earth  of  them. 

Having  thus  secured  his  share,  he  re- 
turned to  his  lodge,  where  he  was  sick  for 
a  long  time  from  the  wounds  that  he  had 
received. 

One  of  his  first  adventures  after  he  had 
recovered  was  capturing  a  great  fish,  from 
which  he  took  so  much  oil,  that  when  he 


■:j 


#< 

!?»^ 


li: 


% 


Kj 


% 


^\ 


172        Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

poured  it  into  a  hollow  in  the  woods,  it 
formed  a  small  lake,  to  which  he  invited 
all  the  animals  for  a  feast. 

As  fast  as  they  arrived  he  told  them  to 
jump  in  and  drink.  The  bear  went  in 
first,  followed  by  the  deer  and  the  oppos- 
sum.  The  moose  and  the  buffalo  were 
late  and  did  not  get  as  much  as  the 
others.  The  partridge  looked  on  until 
nearly  all  the  oil  was  gone,  while  the  hare 
and  the  marten  were  so  long  in  coming, 
that  they  did  not  get  any.  That  is  why 
animals  differ  so  much  in  fatness. 

"When  they  had  done  feasting,  Tangled 
Hair  took  up  his  drum,  beat  upon  it,  and 
invited  his  guests  to  dance.  He  told  them 
to  pass  round  him  in  a  circle,  keeping 
their  eyes  shut  all  the  time. 

When  he  saw  a  fat  fowl  pass  by  him  he 
wrung  its  neck,  beating  loudly  on  his 
drum  to  drown  its  cries,  and  the  noise  of 
its  fluttering.  After  killing  each  one,  he 
would  call  out,  "That's  the  way,  my 
brothers,  thafs  the  way!  " 

At  last  a  small  duck,  being  suspicious 
of  him,  opened  one  eye,  and  seeing  what 
he  was  doing,  called  as  loudly  as  she 
could,  ' '  Tangled  Hair  is  killing  us, ' '  and 
jumped  and  flew  towards  the  water. 

Tangled  Hair  followed  her,  and  just  as 


f^: 


m 


"Tin-;. 


TQ-"- 


'#^ 


The  Great  Wizard 


173 


she  was  getting  into  the  water,  gave  her  a 
kick  which  flattened  her  back,  and 
straightened  her  legs  out  backward,  so 
that  she  can  no  longer  walk  on  land,  and 
her  tail-feathers  are  few  to  this  day. 

The  other  birds  took  advantage  of  the 
confusion  to  fly  away,  and  the  animals 
ran  off  in  all  directions. 

After  this  Tangled  Hair  set  out  to 
travel,  to  see  if  there  were  any  wizards 
greater  than  himself.  He  saw  all  the 
nations  of  red  men,  and  was  returning 
quite  satisfied,  when  he  met  a  great 
magician  in  the  form  of  an  old  wolf,  who 
was  journeying  with  six  young  ones. 

As  soon  as  the  wolf  saw  him,  he  told  the 
whelps  to  keep  out  of  the  way,  for 
Tangled  Hair's  fame  for  cruelty  and 
wickedness  had  been  carried  everywhere 
by  the  animals  and  birds  he  had  tried  to 
kill. 

As  the  young  wolves  were  running  off, 
Tangled  Hair  said  to  them,  ''My  grand- 
children, where  are  you  going?  Stop  and 
I  will  go  with  you." 

The  old  wolf  was  Watching  him  and 
came  up  in  time  to  answer,  '*We  are 
going  to  a  place  where  we  can  find  most 
game,  where  we  may  pass  the  winter. ' ' 

Tangled  Hair  said  he  would  like  to  go 


}/• 


.<^i 


'3 


W^ 

ii^^i\ 


^^^ 


^iS39^s:r!^si^'^^^^-*' 


t&s^ 


174       American  Indian  Tales 

with  them  and  asked  the  old  wolf  to 
change  him  into  a  wolf.  Now  this  was 
very  foolish,  for  he  thereby  lost  his 
power,  whereas  if  he  had  changed  himself 
into  one  he  might  still  have  kept  it,  but 
even  the  greatest  wizard  did  not  know 
everything. 

The  old  wolf  was  only  too  glad  to  grant 
his  wish,  and  changed  him  into  a  wolf  like 
himself.  Tangled  Hair  was  not  satisfied 
and  asked  to  be  made  a  little  larger. 
The  wolf  made  him  larger;  and  as  he 
was  still  dissatisfied,  he  made  him  twice 
as  large  as  the  others. 

Tangled  Hair  was  better  pleased,  but  he 
still  thought  he  might  be  improved,  so 
he  said  to  the  old  wolf,  ''Do,  please 
make  my  tail  a  little  larger  and  more 
bushy. ' ' 

The  wolf  did  this,  and  Tangled  Hair 
found  a  large  tail  very  heavy  to  drag 
about  with  him. 

Presently  they  came  to  the  bottom  of  a 
ravine  up  which  they  rushed  into  the 
thick  woods  where  they  discovered  the 
track  of  a  moose.  The  young  wolves  fol- 
lowed it,  while  the  old  wolf  and  Tangled 
Hair  walked  on  after  them,  taking  their 
time. 

"Which  do  you  think  is  the  swiftest 


^55^ 


f^^  .T^'^''i:\ 


n 


'■^4'*. 


The  Great  Wizard  175 

runner    among   my  wlielps  ?"   said  the 

wolf. 

"Why  the  foremost  one,  that  takes 
such  long  leaps,"  said  Tangled  Hair. 

The  old  wolf  laughed  sneeringly. 
''You  are  mistaken,"  he  said,  "  he  will 
soon  tire  out.  The  one  who  seems  to  be 
slowest  will  capture  the  game." 

Shortly  afterward  they  reached  a  place 
where  one  of  the  young  wolves  had 
dropped  a  small  bundle. 

"  Pick  it  up,"  said  the  wolf  to  Tangled 
Hair.  ^     ^ 

''No,"  replied  he,  "what  do  I  want 
with  a  dirty  dog-skin?  " 

The  wolf  took  it  up  and  it  was  turned 
into  a  beautiful  robe. 

"I  will  carry  it  now,"  said  Tangled 

Hair. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  wolf,  ''I  cannot 
trust  you  with  a  robe  of  pearls,"  and  im- 
mediately the  robe  shone,  for  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  pearls. 

They  had  gone  about  six  arrow-flights 
farther  when  they  saw  a  broken  tooth 
that  one  of  the  young  wolves  had  dropped 
in  biting  at  the  moose  as  it  passed. 

"Tangled  Hair,"  said  the  wolf ,  ''one 
of  the  children  has  shot  at  the  game,  pick 
up  his  arrow." 


"to  ^B  ^"titfr^ 


176       Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


''No,"  lie  replied,  ''what  do  I  want 
witli  a  dirty  dog's  tooth?  " 

The  old  wolf  took  it  up,  and  it  be- 
came a  beautiful  silver  arrow. 

They  found  that  the  young  wolves  had 
killed  a  very  fat  moose.  Tangled  Hair 
was  hungry,  but  the  wolf  charmed  him  so 
that  he  saw  nothing  but  the  bones  picked 
bare.  After  a  time  the  wolf  gave  him  a 
heap  of  fresh  ruddy  meat  cut,  so  it  seemed 
to  Tangled  Hair,  from  the  skeleton. 

"  How  firm  it  is !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"Yes,"  answered  the  wolf,  "oz^rgame 
always  is.  It  is  not  a  long  tail  that  makes 
the  best  hunter. ' ' 

Tangled  Hair  was  a  good  hunter  when 
he  was  not  too  lazy  to  undertake  the 
chase.  One  day  he  went  out  and  killed 
a  large  fat  moose,  but  having  lived  well 
in  the  wolf's  lodge  he  was  not  very  hun- 
gry, and  so  turned  the  carcass  from  side 
to  side,  uncertain  where  to  begin.  He 
had  learned  to  dread  the  ridicule  of  the 
wolves,  who  were  always  showing  him 
how  little  he  knew  as  a  wolf,  yet  he  could 
not  change  himself  into  a  man  again. 

"If  I  begin  at  the  head,"  he  said, 
"they  will  say  I  ate  it  backwards.  If  I 
cut  the  side  first,  they  will  say  I  ate  it 
sideways."     He  turned  it  round  so  that 


t5" 

A 


o 


The  Great  Wizard 


the  liindquarter  was  in  front  of  him. 
'^f  I  begin  here,  they  will  say  I  ate  it 
forwards."  But  he  began  to  be  hungry, 
so  he  said,  "  I  will  begin  here,  let  them 
say  what  they  will." 

He  cut  a  piece  off  the  flank  and  was 
just  about  to  put  it  into  his  mouth  when 
he  heard  the  branches  of  a  large  tree 
creaking.  "  Stop,  stop,"  he  said  to  the 
tree,  for  the  sound  annoyed  him.  The 
tree  paid  no  attention  to  him,  so  he  threw 
down  his  meat,  exclaiming,  ''  I  cannot  eat 
with  such  a  noise  about !  ' ' 

He  climbed  the  tree  and  was  pulling  at 
the  branch  which  by  rubbing  against  an- 
other had  caused  the  creaking,  when  it 
was  suddenly  blown  towards  him  and  his 
paw  was  caught  so  that  he  could  not  get 
it  out.  Pretty  soon  a  pack  of  wolves 
came  along  and  he  called  out  to  them, 
''  Go  away,  go  away  !  " 

The  chief  of  the  wolves  knew  Tangled 
Hair's  voice  and  said  to  the  others,  ''Let 
us  go  on,  for  I  am  sure  he  has  something 
there  he  does  not  want  us  to  see." 

They  found  the  moose  and  began  eating 
it.  Tangled  Hair  could  not  get  to  them, 
so  they  linished  the  animal,  leaving  noth- 
ing but  the  bones.  After  they  had  gone 
a  storm  arose  which  blew  the  branches  of 


178       American  Indian  Tales 


the  trees  apart,  and  Tangled  Hair  was 
able  to  get  out,  but  lie  had  to  go  home 
hungry. 

The  next  day  the  old  wolf  said  to  him, 
"  My  brother,  I  am  going  to  leave  you, 
for  we  cannot  live  together  always." 

*'  Let  me  have  one  of  your  children  for 
my  grandson,"  said  Tangled  Hair. 

The  old  wolf  left  the  one  who  was  the 
best  hunter,  and  also  the  lodge. 

Tangled  Hair  was  disenchanted  after 
the  wolves  had  gone,  and  when  he  as- 
sumed his  natural  shape,  his  power  as  a 
wizard  came  back.  He  was  very  fond 
of  his  grandson  and  took  good  care  of 
him,  giving  much  thought  night  and  day 
to  his  welfare.  One  day  he  said  to  him, 
''My  grandson,  I  dreamed  of  you  last 
night,  and  I  feel  that  trouble  will  come 
to  you  unless  you  will  heed  what  I  say. 
You  must  not  cross  the  lake  that  lies  in 
the  thick  woods.  No  matter  what  may 
the  need  or  how  tired  you  may  be,  go 
around  it,  even  though  the  ice  looks 
strong  and  safe." 

In  the  early  spring  when  the  ice  was 
breaking  up  on  the  lakes  and  rivers,  the 
little  wolf  came  to  the  edge  of  the  water 
late  in  the  evening.  He  was  tired  and  it 
was  such  a  long  way  round.     He  stood 


>^" 


f 


ft^ 


The  Great  Wizard  179 

and  thought  to  himself,  ^'My  grand- 
father is  too  cautious  about  this  lake, ' ' 
and  he  tried  the  ice  with  his  foot,  press- 
ing his  weight  upon  it.  It  seemed  strong 
to  him,  so  he  ventured  to  cross.  He  had 
not  gone  half  way,  however,  when  it 
broke  and  he  fell  in,  and  was  seized  by 
the  serpents  whose  lodge  was  under  the 
water. 

Tangled  Hair  guessed  what  had  hap- 
pened to  him  when  night  came  and  again 
the  day  and  he  did  not  return.  He 
mourned  many  days  first  in  his  lodge, 
and  then  by  a  small  brook  that  ran  into 
the  lake. 

A  bird  that  had  been  watching  him  said, 
**  What  are  you  doing  here?  " 

*' Nothing,"  said  Tangled  Hair,  *'but 
can  you  tell  me  who  lives  in  this  lake?  " 

*' Yes,"  said  the  bird,  *'the  Prince  of 
Serpents  lives  here,  and  I  am  set  by  him 
to  watch  for  the  body  of  Tangled  Hair's 
grandson,  whom  they  killed  three  moons 
since.  You  are  Tangled  Hair,  are  you 
not?" 

"No,"  was  the  answer,  "Why  do  you 
think  he  would  wish  to  come  here?  Tell 
me  about  these  serpents." 

The  bird  pointed  to  a  beautiful  beach 
of  white  sand  where  he  said  the  serpents 


"j^'-^V^"  '^ 


ff7-' 


"''*J^^ 


American  Indian  Tales 


came  just  after  mid- day  to  bask  in  the 
sun.  ''You  may  know  when  they  are 
coming,"  said  he,  ''because  all  the  rip- 
ples will  disappear  and  the  water  will  be 
smooth  and  still  before  they  rise. 

"Thank  you,"  said  Tangled  Hair,  "I 
am  the  wizard  Tangled  Hair.  Do  not 
fear  me.  Come  and  I  will  give  you  a  re- 
ward. ' ' 

The  bird  went  to  him  and  Tangled 
Hair  placed  a  white  medal  round  his 
neck,  which  the  Kingfisher  wears  to  this 
day.  While  putting  it  on  he  tried  to 
wring  the  bird's  neck.  He  did  this  for 
fear  it  might  go  to  the  serpents  and  tell 
them  he  was  watching  for  them.  It  es- 
caped him,  however,  with  only  the  crown 
feathers  ruffled. 

He  went  to  the  beach  of  white  sand 
and  changing  himself  into  an  oak  stump 
waited  for  the  serpents.  Before  long  the 
water  became  smooth  as  the  lake  of  oil 
he  himself  had  once  made.  Soon  hun- 
dreds of  serpents  came  crawling  up  on 
the  beach.  The  Prince  was  beautifully 
white,  the  others  were  red  and  yellow. 

The  Prince  spoke  to  the  others  and 
said,  "I  never  saw  that  black  stump 
there  before ;  it  may  be  the  wizard,  Tan- 
gled Hair." 


^fe 


^^  *3; 


% 


The  Great  Wizard 


;^' 


181 


Then  one  of  the  largest  serpents  went 
to  the  stump  and  coiled  itself  round  the 
top,  pressing  it  very  hard.  The  greatest 
pressure  was  on  Tangled  Hair's  throat, 
and  he  was  just  ready  to  cry  out  when 
the  serpent  let  go.  Eight  of  the  others 
did  the  same  to  him,  but  each  let  go  just 
in  time.  They  then  coiled  themselves  up 
on  the  beach  near  their  Prince,  and  after 
a  long  time  fell  asleep. 

Tangled  Hair  was  watching  them 
closely,  and  when  he  saw  the  last  one 
breathing  heavily  in  sleep,  he  took  his 
bow  and  arrows  and  stepped  cautiously 
about  until  he  was  near  the  Prince,  whom 
he  shot  and  wounded. 

The  serpents  were  roused  by  his  cry, 
and  plunging  into  the  water,  they  lashed 
the  waves  so  that  a  great  flood  was  raised 
and  Tangled  Hair  was  nearly  drowned. 
He  climbed  into  a  tall  tree,  and  when  the 
water  was  up  to  his  chin  he  looked  about 
for  some  means  of  escape.  He  saw  a 
loon  and  said  to  him,  "Dive  down,  my 
brother,  and  bring  up  some  earth  so  that 
I  can  make  a  new  world." 

The  bird  obeyed  him,  but  came  up  life- 
less. He  next  asked  the  muskrat  to  do 
him  the  service,  and  promised  him  if  he 
succeeded,  a  chain  of  beautiful  little  lakes 


*Sf^.  :0 


<Sf  af'. 


\ 


N^. 
^"P 


'^7  . 


—MmsK^      _ 


/^J 


182       Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

surrounded  by  rushes  for  his  lodge  in  fu- 
ture. The  muskrat  dived  down,  but 
floated  up  senseless.  Tangled  Hair  took 
the  body  and  breathed  into  the  nostrils, 
which  restored  the  animal  to  life.  It 
tried  again  and  came  up  the  second  time 
senseless,  but  it  had  some  earth  in  its 
paws. 

Tangled  Hair  charmed  the  earth  till  it 
spread  out  into  an  island,  and  then  into  a 
new  world.  As  he  was  walking  upon  it, 
he  met  an  old  woman,  the  mother  of  the 
Prince  of  Serpents,  looking  for  herbs  to 
cure  her  son.  She  had  a  pack  of  cedar 
cords  on  her  back.  In  answer  to  his 
questions  she  said  she  intended  it  for  a 
snare  for  Tangled  Hair. 

Having  found  out  all  he  wished.  Tan- 
gled Hair  killed  her,  took  off  her  skin, 
wrapped  it  about  him,  and  placing  the 
cedar  cord  on  his  back,  went  to  her  lodge. 

There  he  saw  the  skin  of  his  beloved 
grandson  hanging  in  the  doorway.  This 
made  him  so  angry  that  he  could  hardly 
keep  up  the  disguise.  He  sat  down  out- 
side the  door  and  began  weaving  a  snare 
of  the  cedar  cord,  rocking  himself  to  and 
fro  and  sobbing  like  an  old  woman. 
Some  one  called  to  him  to  make  less  noise 
and  to  come  and  attend  to  the  Prince. 


The  Great  Wizard  183 

He  put  down  the  snare,  and  wiping  his 
eyes,  went  in,  singing  the  songs  the  old 
woman  had  told  him  would  cure  her  son. 

No  one  suspected  him,  and  he  pre- 
tended to  make  ready  to  pull  out  the  ar- 
row which  he  found  was  not  deeply  em- 
bedded in  the  Prince's  side.  Instead  of 
pulling  it  out  he  gave  it  a  sudden  thrust 
and  killed  the  Prince ;  but  he  had  used 
so  much  force  that  he  burst  the  old 
woman's  skin.  The  serpents  hissed  and 
he  fled  quickly  from  the  place. 

He  took  refuge  with  the  badger,  and 
with  its  help  he  threw  a  wall  of  earth 
against  the  opening  of  their  lodge  so  that 
no  one  could  get  at  him.  They  had  an- 
other opening  behind  the  rock,  through 
which  they  could  bring  in  food  so  that 
they  could  not  be  starved  out  by  the  ser- 
pents. 

Tangled  Hair  soon  grew  tired  of  living  i 

under  ground,   so  he  started  to  go  out,        "M  j  j 
and,  as  the  badger  stood  in  his  way,  and        '  ^  f  I 
did  not  move  quickly  enough  to  please 
him,   he  kicked    the    poor  animal  and 
killed  him. 

He  then  ran  back  towards  the  serpent's 
lodge,  and  finding  the  dead  body  of  the 
Prince,  which  the  serpents  in  their  haste 
to  follow  him  had  left  unburied,  he  put    -^ '  | 


r^ 


184       American  Indian  Tales 

the  skin  around  him  and  went  boldly  up 
to  the  serpent  tribe.  They  were  so  fright- 
ened that  they  fell  into  the  lake  and  never 
again  ventured  forth. 

After  many  years  of  wickedness,  Tan- 
gled Hair  repented,  and  traveled  to  the 
end  of  the  earth,  where  he  built  himself  a 
lodge,  and  tried,  by  good  deeds,  to  rid 
himself  of  remembrances.  But  even  there 
he  was  a  terror  to  men  and  beasts. 

Having  shown,  however,  that  he  was 
really  sorry  for  his  misdeeds,  his  father, 
the  West-wind  gave  him  a  part  of  his 
kingdom.  He  went  to  live  beyond  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  took  the  name  of 
the  North-west  wind. 


t 


^     ^'^'^'^3^ 


^ 


WHITE  CLOUD'S  VISIT  TO  THE 
SUN-PRINOE. 


m 


<J 


i 


i 


WHITE    CLOUD'S    VISIT    TO    THE 
SUN-PRINCE. 

NCE  upon  a  time,  when 
there  were  no  large 
cities  in  the  western 
world,  all  the  land  being 
forest  or  prairie,  five 
young  men  set  out  to 
hunt.  They  took  mth 
them  a  boy  named 
White  Cloud.  He  was  only  ten  years 
old,  but  he  was  a  swift  runner  and  his 
sight  was  keen,  so  there  were  many  ways 
in  which  he  was  useful  to  them. 

They  started  before  daylight,  and  had 
traveled  a  long  way  when,  on  reaching 
the  top  of  a  high  hill,  the  sun  suddenly 
burst  forth.  The  air  was  free  from  mist, 
and  there  being  but  few  trees  or  tall 
bushes  near,  the  brightness  dazzled  them 
as  it  had  never  done  before,  and  they  ex- 
claimed, ''How  near  it  is !  " 

Then  one  of  them  said,  "Let  us  go  to 
it,"  and  they  all  agreed.  They  did  not 
wish  to  take  White  Cloud  with  them,  but 
he  insisted  upon  going.  When  they  con- 
tinued to  refuse  he  threatened  to  teU 

187 


188       Ameeican  Indian  Tales 


their  parents  and  tlie  Chief,  who  would 
surely  prevent  them  from  undertaking 
such  a  journey.  Finally  they  consented,  -^ 
and  each  went  home  to  make  prepara- 
tions. They  shot  some  birds  and  a  red 
deer  on  the  way  so  as  not  to  arouse  the 
suspicions  of  their  friends. 

Before  they  parted  they  agreed  to  get 
all  the  moccasins  they  could  and  a  new 
suit  of  leather  apiece,  in  case  they  should 
be  gone  a  long  time  and  might  not  be  able 
to  procure  clothes. 

White  Cloud  had  most  difficulty  in 
getting  these  things,  but  after  coaxing  to 
no  purpose,  he  burst  out  crying  and  said, 
'*  Don't  you  see  I  am  not  dressed  like  my 
companions,  they  all  have  new  leggings?  " 
This  plea  was  successful,  and  he  was  pro- 
vided with  a  new  outfit. 

As  the  party  went  forth  the  next  day 
they  whispered  mysteriously  to  one  an- 
other, taking  care  that  such  phrases 
should  be  overheard  as  ''a  grand  hunt," 
and  "we'll  see  who  brings  home  most 
game."  They  did  this  to  deceive  their 
friends. 

Upon  reaching  the  spot  from  which 
they  had  seen  the  sun  so  near  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  they  were  surprised  to  find  that 
it  looked  as  far  away  as  it  did  from  their  JJj 


'd 


^m 


Visit  to  the  Sun-Pkijstce      189 


own  village.  They  traveled  day  after  day, 
but  seemed  to  come  no  nearer.  At  last 
they  encamped  for  a  season  and  consulted 
with  one  another  as  to  the  direction  in 
which  they  should  go.  White  Cloud 
settled  it  by  saying,  *'  There  is  the  place 
of  light  (pointing  towards  the  east),  if  we 
keep  on  we  must  reach  it  some  time.'' 

So  they  journeyed  toward  the  east. 
They  crossed  the  prairie  and  entered  a 
deep  forest,  where  it  was  dark  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  day.  There  the  Prince  of  the 
rattlesnakes  had  his  warriors  gathered 
round  him,  but  the  eldest  of  the  party 
wore  a  "medicine  "  of  snake-skin,  so  he 
and  his  companions  were  allowed  to  go 
through  the  woods  unharmed. 

They  went  on  day  after  day  and  night 
after  night  through  forests  that  seemed 
to  have  no  end.  When  the  Morning  Star 
painted  her  face,  and  when  the  beautiful 
red  glowed  in  the  west,  when  the  Storm- 
fool  gathered  his  harvest,  when  the  south 
wind  blew  silver  from  the  dandelion,  they 
kept  on,  but  came  no  nearer  to  their  ob- 
ject. 

Once  they  rested  a  long  time  to  make 
snowshoes  and  more  arrows.  They  built 
a  lodge  and  hunted  daily  until  they  had 
a  good  store  of  dried  meat,  as  much  as 


"^^ 


190       American  Indian  Tales 


they  could  carry,  and  again  they  went 
on  their  way. 

After  many  moons  they  reached  a  river 
that  was  running  swiftly  towards  the 
east.  They  kept  close  to  it  until  it 
flowed  between  high  hills.  One  of  these 
they  climbed  and  caught  sight  of  some- 
thing white  between  the  trees.  They 
hurried  on  and  rested  but  little  that 
night,  for  they  thought  surely  the  white 
line  must  be  the  path  that  leads  to  the 
splendid  lodge  of  the  sun. 

Next  morning  they  came  suddenly  in 
view  of  a  large  lake.  No  land  was  on 
any  side  of  it  except  where  they  stood. 
Some  of  them  being  thirsty,  stooped  to 
drink.  As  soon  as  they  had  tasted,  they 
spat  out  the  liquid,  exclaiming,  ''Salt 
water!  " 

When  the  sun  arose  he  seemed  to  lead 
forth  out  of  the  farthest  waves.  They 
looked  with  wonder,  then  they  grew  sad, 
for  they  were  as  far  away  as  ever. 

After  smoking  together  in  council,  they 
resolved  not  to  go  back,  but  to  walk 
around  the  great  lake.  They  started 
towards  the  north,  but  had  only  gone  a 
short  distance  when  they  came  to  a  broad 
river  flowing  between  mountains.  Here 
they  stayed    the   night.     While  seated 


Visit  TO  the  Sun-Prince      191 

round  their  lire,  some  one  thought  to  ask 
whether  any  of  them  had  dreamed  of 
water. 

After  a  long  silence  the  eldest  said,  * '  I 
dreamt  last  night  that  we  had  come 
wrong,  that  we  should  have  gone  towards 
the  south.  But  a  little  way  beyond  the 
place  where  we  encamped  yesterday  is  a 
river.  There  we  shall  see  an  island  not 
far  out  in  the  lake.  It  will  come  to  us 
and  we  are  to  go  upon  it,  for  it  will  carry 
us  to  the  lodge  of  the  sun." 

The  travelers  were  well  pleased  with 
the  dream,  and  went  back  towards  the 
south.  A  few  hours'  journey  from  their 
old  camp  brought  them  to  a  river.  At  first 
they  saw  no  island,  but  as  they  walked 
they  came  to  a  rise  of  ground  and  the 
island  appeared  to  them  in  the  distance. 
As  they  looked,  it  seemed  to  approach. 

Some  were  frightened  and  wanted  to 
go  away,  but  the  courage  of  White  Cloud 
shamed  them,  and  they  waited  to  see  what 
would  happen.  They  saw  three  bare 
trees  on  the  island,  such  as  pine  trees 
that  have  been  robbed  of  their  leaves  by 
fire.  As  they  looked,  lo !  a  canoe  with 
wings  that  flapped  like  those  of  a  loon 
when  it  flies  low  dow^n  to  the  lake,  left 
the  island. 


^^ 


192        Americaist  Indian  Tales 

It  came  swiftly  over  the  water,  and 
when  it  tonched  the  land,  a  man  with  a 
white  face  and  a  hat  on,  stepped  upon  the 
shore  and  spoke  to  them,  but  they  could 
not  understand  what  he  said.  He  mo- 
tioned to  them  to  mount  the  bird  canoe, 
which  they  did,  and  were  carried  to  the 
island. 

There  was  a  horrible  noise  and  rattle 
like  that  made  by  the  magician  when  he 
conjures  the  evil  spirit  from  a  sick  man, 
then  white  wings  sprang  from  the  bare 
tree  trunks,  and  they  felt  themselves 
moving  over  the  water,  as  the  deer  bounds 
across  the  trail  in  the  forest. 

The  night  came  and  they  saw  the 
familiar  stars  above  them,  so  they  lay 
down  to  sleep,  fearing  nothing. 

When  the  day  dawned,  they  could  see 
no  shore  anywhere,  only  the  water  of  the 
lake.  The  Pale-faces  were  kind,  and 
gave  them  food  and  drink,  and  taught 
them  words,  such  as  they  said  to  one 
another. 

One  moon  had  passed  and  another  had 
come  and  nearly  gone,  when  the  Pale-face 
Chief  said  they  would  soon  find  the 
shore,  and  he  would  take  them  to  his 
Prince,  who  would  direct  them  to  their 
journey's  end. 


Visit  to  the  Sun-Prince       193 

The  Prince  lived  in  a  beautiful  lodge  of 
white  stone.  The  walls  were  of  silver, 
hung  with  silver  shields  and  arrows.  His 
throne  was  of  white  horn  carved  with 
many  figures.  His  robe  was  ermine,  and 
he  had  many  sparkling  stones  in  his 
headdress. 

He  talked  to  White  Cloud  and  listened 
to  the  story  of  their  wanderings,  their 
dreams  and  their  disappointments,  and 
spoke  gently,  trying  to  persuade  them  to 
give  up  their  purpose.  ''See,"  said  he, 
' '  here  are  hunting-grounds,  and  fat  deer, 
and  game  and  fish  enough  for  you,  and 
none  shall  make  war  or  trouble  you,  why 
go  farther?  " 

But  they  would  not  stay.  Whereupon, 
the  Prince  proved  himself  a  magician,  for 
he  told  them  in  what  direction  they  should 
go,  and  what  would  befall  them.  At  the 
last  they  would  come  to  the  wigwam  of 
the  great  wizard.  Tangled  Hair.  They 
would  hear  his  dreadful  rattle  three  days 
before  they  reached  his  lodge,  and  the 
wizard  would  do  his  best  to  destroy  them. 

The  Prince  tried  again  to  keep  them, 
but  as  they  would  not  stay,  he  gave  them 
presents  of  food  and  clothing,  and  his 
warriors  led  them  to  the  end  of  his 
country. 


194       Ameeican  Indian  Tales 

They  went  through  many  forests,  but 
the  trees  were  strange  to  them.  They 
saw  flowers  springing  in  their  path  and 
vines  upon  the  rocks  and  about  the  trees, 
but  none  were  those  they  knew.  Even  the 
birds  were  strange,  and  talked  in  voices 
which  they  could  not  understand.  But 
all  this  made  them  believe  they  were  get- 
ting nearer  to  the  Sun-Prince. 

After  many  moons  the  clothing  which 
the  Prince  of  the  Pale-faces  had  given 
was  worn  out,  so  they  put  on  their 
leather  dresses  again.  Hardly  had  they 
done  this,  when  they  heard  a  fierce  rattle 
and  knew  that  they  were  near  the  wig- 
wam of  the  wizard.  The  noise  was  dread- 
ful and  seemed  to  come  from  the  centre 
of  the  earth. 

They  had  traveled  far  that  day.  The 
ground  had  been  rough  and  stony  and  in 
many  places  covered  with  water  through 
which  they  had  been  obliged  to  wade. 
They  lighted  a  fire  and  sat  down  to  dry 
their  clothes  and  to  rest.  The  noise  of 
the  rattle  continued  and  increased  so 
much  that  they  broke  up  their  camp  and 
went  toward  the  place  which  they  knew 
must  be  Tangled  Hair's  lodge. 

It  was  not  a  wigwam,  but  a  lodge  with 
many  fireplaces,  and  it  had  eyes  which 


-*,.^ 


Visit  to  the  Sun-Prince       195 

glared  like  their  camp  fire.  Two  of  the 
travelers  wished  to  go  back  or  to  try  to 
get  around  the  lodge,  but  White  Cloud 
said,  ''  Let  the  wizard  see  we  are  no  cow- 
ards. ' '     So  they  went  up  to  the  door. 

There  they  were  met  by  Tangled  Hair 
himself,  who  said,  ''  Welcome,  my  grand- 
sons !  " 

When  they  were  seated  in  his  lodge,  he 
gave  each  some  smoking  mixture,  and  as 
they  sat  and  smoked  he  said  that  he  knew 
their  history,  and  had  seen  them  when 
they  left  their  village.  He  took  the 
trouble  to  do  this  so  that  they  might  be- 
lieve what  he  was  about  to  say. 

^ '  I  do  not  know  that  all  of  you  will 
reach  your  journey's  end,  though  you 
have  gone  three -fourth's  of  the  way  and 
are  very  near  the  edge  of  the  earth. 
When  you  reach  that  place  you  will  see 
a  chasm  below  you  and  will  be  deafened 
by  the  noise  of  the  sky  descending  upon 
the  world.  It  keeps  moving  up  and 
down.  You  must  watch,  and  when  it  lifts 
you  will  see  a  little  space.  You  must 
leap  through  this,  fearing  nothing,  and 
you  will  find  yourselves  on  a  beautiful 
plain." 

The  wizard  then  told  them  who  he  was 
and  that  they  had  no  need  to  fear  him  if 


'V-v-^iC* 


(^^^\ 


Ameeicai^  Indian  Tales 


they  were  brave  men.     He  was  not  per- 
mitted to  help  weak  men  and  cowards. 

When  the  first  arrow  of  daylight  came 
into  the  lodge,  the  young  men  started  up 
and  refused  to  rest  longer,  so  Tangled 
Hair  showed  them  the  direction  they 
were  to  take  in  going  to  the  edge  of  the 
world.  Before  they  left  he  pointed  out  a 
lodge  in  the  shape  of  an  egg  standing 
upon  its  larger  end  and  said,  ' '  Ask  for 
what  you  want  and  he  who  lives  in  that 
lodge  will  give  it  to  you. ' ' 

The  first  two  asked  that  they  might 
live  forever  and  never  be  in  want.  The 
third  and  fourth  asked  to  live  longer 
than  many  others  and  always  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  war.  White  Cloud  spoke  for 
his  favorite  companion  and  for  himself. 
Their  wish  was  to  live  as  long  as  other 
braves  and  to  have  success  in  hunting 
that  they  might  provide  for  their  parents 
and  relatives. 

The  wizard  smiled  upon  them  and  a 
voice  from  the  pointed  lodge  said,  *'  Your, 
wishes  shall  be  granted.'' 

They  were  anxious  to  be  gone,  more 
especially  when  they  found  that  they  Z^ 
had  been  in  Tangled  Hair's  lodge  not  a     y 
day,  as  they  had  supposed,  but  a  year.         /  ^ 

''Stop,"  cried  Tangled  Hair,  as  they^^ 


««gVft»    1 


V 


I 


White  Cloud  and  his  friend  at  last  gave  a  great  leap." 


^.•^ 


i'^«.- 


Visit  to  the  Sun-Prince       197 

prepared  to  depart,  '*yon  who  wished  to 
live  forever  shall  have  that  wish  granted 
now. ' '  Thereupon  he  turned  one  of  them 
into  a  cedar  tree  and  the  other  into  a 
gray  rock. 

"Now,"  said  he  to  the  others,  ''you 
may  go." 

They  went  on  their  way  trembling,  and 
said  to  one  another,  ' '  We  were  fortunate 
to  get  away  at  all,  for  the  Prince  told  us 
he  was  an  evil  spirit." 

They  had  not  gone  far  when  they  heard 
the  beating  of  the  sky.  As  they  went 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  edge  it  grew 
deafening,  and  strong  gusts  of  wind  blew 
them  off  their  feet.  When  they  reached 
the  very  edge  everything  was  dark,  fo; 
the  sky  had  settled  down,  but  it  soon 
lifted  and  the  sun  passed  but  a  short  dis- 
tance above  their  heads. 

It  was  some  time  before  they  could 
get  courage  enough  to  jump  through  the 
space.  White  Cloud  and  his  friend  at 
last  gave  a  great  leap  and  landed  on  the 
plain  of  which  they  had  been  told. 

"Leap,  leap  quickly,"  called  White 
Cloud  to  the  others,  "the  sky  is  on  its 
way  down." 

They  reached  out  timidly  with  their 
hands,  but  just  then  the  sky  came  down 


\^ti^ 


/tT^ 


m 


198       American  Indiatt  Tales 


L*5A. 


with  terrific  force  and  hnrled  them  into 
the  chasm.  There  they  found  themselves 
changed  into  monstrous  serpents  which 
no  man  could  kill,  so  their  wish  was 
granted. 

Meanwhile,  White  Cloud  and  his  com- 
panion found  themselves  in  a  beautiful 
country  lighted  by  the  moon.  As  they 
walked  on  all  weariness  left  them  and 
they  felt  as  if  they  had  vdngs.  They  saw 
a  hill  not  far  off  and  started  to  climb  it, 
that  they  might  look  abroad  over  the 
country. 

When  they  reached  it,  a  little  old 
woman  met  them.  She  had  a  white  face 
and  white  hair,  but  her  eyes  were  soft 
and  dark  and  bright  in  spite  of  her  great 
age. 

She  spoke  kindly  and  told  them  that 
she  was  the  Princess  of  the  Moon,  that 
they  were  now  half  way  to  the  lodge  of 
her  brother,  the  Sun-prince.  She  led 
them  up  a  steep  hill  which  sloped  on  the 
other  side  directly  to  the  lodge  of  the 
Sun. 

The  Moon-princess  introduced  them  to 
her  brother,  who  wore  a  robe  of  a  rich, 
golden  color,  and  shining  as  if  it  had 
points  of  silver  all  over  it.  He  took  down 
from  the  wall  a  splendid  pipe  and  a  pouch 


^r-i 


^    t« 


Visit  to  the  Sun-Prinoe      199 

of  smoking  mixture,  which  he  handed  to 
them. 

He  put  many  questions  to  them  about 
their  country  and  their  people,  atid  asked 
them  why  they  had  undertaken  this 
journey.  They  told  him  all  he  wished  to 
know,  and  in  return  asked  him  to  favor 
their  nation,  to  shine  upon  their  corn  and 
make  it  grow  and  to  light  their  way  in 
the  forest. 

The  Prince  promised  to  do  all  these 
things,  and  was  much  pleased  because 
they  had  asked  for  favors  for  their 
friends  rather  than  for  themselves. 

*'Come  with  me,"  he  said,  ''and  I 
will  show  you  much  that  you  could  not 
see  elsewhere." 

Before  starting  he  took  down  from  his 
walls  arrows  tipped  with  silver  and  with 
gold,  and  placed  them  in  a  golden  quiver. 
Then  they  set  out  on  their  journey 
through  the  sky. 

Their  path  lay  across  a  broad  plain 
covered  with  many  brilliant  flowers. 
These  were  half  hidden  many  times  by 
the  long  grass,  the  scent  of  which  was  as 
fragrant  as  the  flowers  it  hid.  They 
passed  tall  trees  with  wide  spreading 
branches  and  thick  foliage.  The  most 
luxuriant  were  on  the  banks  of  a  river  as 


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200       American  Indian  Tales 

clear  as  crystal  stone,  or  on  the  edge  of 
little  lakes  wMcli  in  their  stony  trails 
looked  like  bowls  of  water  set  there  for 
the  use  of  a  mighty  giant.  Tribes  of 
water-fowl  flew  about,  and  birds  of  bright 
plumage  darted  through  the  forest  like  a 
shower  of  arrows.  They  saw  some  long, 
low  lodges  with  cages  filled  with  singing 
birds  hanging  on  the  walls,  but  the 
people  were  away. 

When  they  had  traveled  half  across 
the  sky,  they  came  to  a  place  where  there 
were  fine,  soft  mats,  which  the  young 
men  discovered  were  white  clouds. 
There  they  sat  down,  and  the  Sun-prince 
began  making  preparations  for  dinner. 

At  this  place  there  was  a  hole  in  the 
sky,  and  they  could  look  down  upon  the 
earth.  They  could  see  all  its  hills, 
plains,  rivers,  lakes  and  trees,  and  the 
big  salt  lake  they  had  crossed. 

While  they  were  looking  at  a  tribe  of 
Indians  dancing,  something  bright  flew 
past  them,  downwards  through  the  hole 
in  the  sky  and  struck  the  merriest  dancer 
of  them  all,  a  young  boy,  son  of  a  great 
chief. 

The  warriors  of  his  tribe  ran  to  him 
and  raised  him  with  great  cries  and 
sounds  of  sorrow.     A  wizard  spoke  and 


'«•?.* 


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Visit  to  the  Sun-Prince       201 

told  them  to  offer  a  white  dog  to  the  Sun- 
prince. 

The  animal  was  brought,  and  the  mas- 
ter of  the  feast  held  the  choicest  portion 
above  his  head,  saying:  "We  send  this 
to  thee,  Great  Spirit,"  and  immediately 
the  roasted  animal  was  drawn  upwards 
and  passed  through  the  sky.  Then  the 
boy  recovered  and  went  on  dancing. 

After  White  Cloud  and  his  companion 
had  feasted  with  the  Sun-prince,  they 
walked  on  till  they  saw  before  them  a 
long  slope  that  was  like  a  river  of  gold, 
flowing  across  silver  sands. 

''Keep  close  to  me,"  said  the  Sun- 
prince,  "  and  have  no  fear.  You  will 
reach  your  home  in  safety." 

So  they  took  hold  of  his  belt,  one  on 
either  side  of  him,  and  felt  themselves 
lowered  as  if  by  ropes.  Then  they  fell 
asleep. 

When  they  awoke  they  found  them- 
selves in  their  own  country,  and  their 
friends  and  relatives  were  standing  near 
them,  rejoicing  over  their  return.  They 
related  all  their  adventures,  and  lived 
many  years  in  honor  and  in  plenty,  the 
Sun-prince  smiling  upon  them  in  all  their 
undertakings. 


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